The Coming Storm
by capctr
Summary: After the events of Breaking Dawn. New discoveries are made that alter the Cullen's world as well as the world around them.Lines are drawn, and family and friends are ultimately drawn into a conflict that will change the whole world, or destroy it.PlzR&R!
1. Chapter 1

Chapter One Change is Coming (Based on Stephanie Meyer's creation)

Bella lay next to Edward, basking in the sunlight and greatly enjoying it's warmth on her skin. She reached over to clasp hands with her husband, marveling at the changes the past year had wrought in all their lives.

With what more or less amounted to their defeat of the Volturie, everyone realized how much they had taken each other for granted. It took coming close to losing everything they cherished, but nobody in the family arrogantly assumed that they would live forever anymore. Perpetual youth, super strength, and relative invulnerability no longer truly amounted to immortality to the Cullens (for even a vampire could die), and it was mutually agreed that whether they all lived another century, or until the sun went out, they would live every moment to the fullest.

In nobody was this more apparent than Rosalie- or as she now preferred to be called, Rose. The close brush with absolute destruction of the family profoundly affected her. In fact, during the crisis, when she realized just how serious the situation was, she had put herself directly in orbit around Emmet, and Nessie- determined to sacrifice everything, even her very existence if need be, to save her two greatest loves. The result of this experience had opened her eyes to the fact that she was the most shallow, selfish, and self-absorbed person she knew, and filled her with shame. Was this the example she really wanted to set for her beloved niece? The very idea of Nessie following such an example was one Rose found revolting.

Upon returning home from the near war, Rose locked herself in her room for the rest of the day. She refused to talk to anyone and would not unlock the door even for Emmet(who knew better than to annoy his wife when she did not want to be bothered.

The next morning she came out of their room, practically buried under an enormous load of black garbage bags filled to capacity. All that was visible were her legs and bare feet.

"Emmet!" she bellowed, "go grab Bella's pick-up and bring it around front. Hurry!"

Emmet jumped up from the couch, dropping the video game control he had been using to battle against Jasper in the newest game he had purchased, and dashed out the door.

Bella looked up from where she sat, next to Edward, holding Nessie. " You still have my truck?" she asked Rose, surprised.

"Yes. Jacob could not stand to see it just sitting there, not running, and well, I figured that if he and Nessie were going to stay close, it would probably be a good idea to find common ground and try to stop fighting so much. So we fixed the truck together."

Bella looked at Rose in astonishment.

"What?" Rose said, defensively "I won't risk alienating Nessie. Besides," her voice, muffled by the load she was carrying "he is quite gifted in automotive repair."

Emmet roared up to the front of the house in the truck.

"I wont be gone long." she called, going out the door.

"Where are you going?" Bella asked after her.

"Just making a trip to the Goodwill."

As the truck drove off, Alice came tearing in through the back door. "Stop her!" she screeched, looking panicked, and disheveled. She and Esme had gone off to feed right after they got home from the standoff.

"Alice, whats wrong?" Esme asked worriedly.

"She has gone mad!" Alice sputtered.

"Alice, calm down." said Bella, soothingly.

"Oh my," Edward said, chuckling "I would never have seen that coming."

Alice put her face in her hands, "The world has gone crazy" she said mournfully.

"Edward, what..." Bella looked at her husband in confusion.

"You will just have to wait and see, dear." he said wonderingly. "If I had not seen Alice's mind just now, I would not have thought it possible."

Twenty minutes later, Rose walked through the door, looking satisfied with herself.

Bella looked up, and did a double-take. Rose was flawlessly beautiful, as always. But there was something different about her. She was wearing jeans! And a flannel Shirt! And no shoes! Bella could not believe her eyes. As far as she knew, Rose didn't Own a pair of jeans, let alone a flannel shirt.

Emmet walked through the door, carrying several bags, and looking thoroughly dazed. "I can't believe it," he murmured, "I just cant believe it. The world must be ending."

"Emmet, where have you been? What is wrong?" Bella asked.

"Wrong?" Rose asked. "Nothing is wrong. Ask what is right."

Looking at his wife, than at Bella, Emmet said "She just dumped her entire wardrobe off at Goodwill, then made me stop at your old friend Mike's family store, where she bought jeans, boots, and flannel shirts!"

"Rose!!" Alice wailed "what have you done with all your beautiful clothes?"

"I'm done with all that Alice. I am done with being nothing more than a selfish, vain little peacock. We almost lost everything, Alice! Our whole family. Nessie. All of the IMPORTANT things. From here on out, I am going to live for our family, not my own selfish vanity."

Alice looked at Rose as if she had never seen her before.

"Get use to it Sis, the Bitch has left the building, and I will not let her back in." Rose finished, fiercely.

Rose had been true too her word. She refused to wear anything that was not functional, and made in the U.S. She would not wear any make-up either. But the biggest difference was in her attitude towards Jacob. She treated him like a favorite nephew, never calling him "Dog" or "Mutt". He in turn, was never rude to her. In fact, he wouldn't even tell blond jokes until Rose started telling them to him, trying to make him laugh.

The end result was that a bond had developed between them that was unbreakable. Jacob was still Jacob Black, but now he was also a Cullen.

One of the results of Rose and Jacob's new relationship, was that they had taken it upon themselves to enhance and even customize everybody's car.

It was when he and Rose had been repairing a dent in Charlie's cruiser (as well as adding some serious modifications under the hood. Boy, was Charlie ever surprised at the exponential increase in power and speed!), that Jacob looked up thoughtfully at Rose while spraying a coat of toasted beige on the right rear quarter panel.

"Hey, Rose?" he asked.

"Hmmm?" she looked down at him, just in time to catch a face full of paint.

"Jacob! What the hell?"

"Rose, just look." He spun her around to look at her reflection in the cruisers side view mirror.

"What..." Her eyes widened as she took in her reflection. Then, before Jacob had a chance to respond, she stripped to the skin in a flash.

Pulling her hair up, closing her eyes, and raising her arms above her head, ordered "Spray the rest of me. Now!"

Jacob, eyes bugging out of his head, complied- wondering how he was going to avoid certain death at the hands of a jealous Emmet.

The end result was that, even though the color wasn't exactly flesh-toned, she was no longer stark white. In fact, aside from the stunning beauty, she looked like any other mortal.

Looking down at herself, she laughed delightedly. "C'mon Jake, now for the final test." and grabbing his arm in a vice-like grip, drug him out of the garage and into the sunlight.

The result was amazing. There was not a single sparkle whatsoever. "Rose, you look absolutely human." Then looking up when he heard an enraged roar, seeing Emmet charging him, he did a gulp. "And I look absolutely dead. Thanks a lot Rose." Before Emmet took another step, Rose was at his side in a blur, and slapping the back of his head with the sound of boulders colliding, snapped "Knock it off!"

Emmet stopped in mid-stride "But you, he, I..." he raged.

"Oh, get over yourself, Butch. Nothing happened. If you can't be naked in front of your family, who can you be naked in front of?"

"Oh, I dunno. HOW ABOUT YOUR HUSBAND AND THE MIRROR ONLY!?" he roared.

Rose shook her head. "Honey, look at me, notice anything different?"

Emmet stared at her with a puzzled frown on his face. Than it dawned on him."you aren't sparkling. You are in the sunlight, and you aren't sparkling."

"Thats right. It was Jacob's idea. Do you realize what this means?"

Emmet was no fool(though he was often mistaken for one) "We can go anywhere, anytime, and blend in!!" he crowed exultantly. "CarlisleEsmeAliceJasperEdwardBella, get out here!"

The whole family was on the porch in a flash.

"Rosalie Hale!" Esme exclaimed, "where are your clothes young lady!"

"Darling, look at her skin." Carlisle murmured, "in the sun." he added emphatically.

"Oh my..."

Needless to say, the whole family was very enthusiastic about the whole idea, and being as Edward, Carlisle, and Esme had all gotten a masters degree in chemistry at one point or another during the course of their studies, they applied their brilliant vampire minds and enormous resources to the idea. Within a month, they had developed a polymer blend that would bind to their skin like paint, but when it dried, it formed into a flexible coating that was both pliable and tough, able to withstand up to thirty minutes of intense wrestling between Jasper and Emmet, before it would start to slough off. It would remain that strong for up to two weeks before reapplication was needed.

The reapplication was done by a modified machine used in tanning salons. It sprayed the polymer on in a pattern that was could only be described as a microscopic mesh, allowing for the passage of air, and sunlight.

Everybody chose their own skin shade, so as to have a bit more variety in the family. The freedom this allowed meant multiple family vacations to places like Maui, the Bahamas, and Cancun. It turns out that vampires love the sunlight, but out of the interest of secrecy, had to stay out of it.

Currently, the whole family were anchored of the coast of Australia, at the Great Barrier Reef.

The Cullen's were on an extended holiday, spending the winter in Australia. They were going to be joined the next day by Charlie and Renee. Bella shook her head.

First Rose turns her nose up at her own vanity, seeking to eliminate selfishness from her nature, than Jacob had the idea that made everybody able to live even more seamlessly like humans. Now Charlie and Renee...

Bella had to admit, she would never have seen this coming in a million years.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two Did anybody see this coming?

Charlie and Renee.

Bella shook her head in wonder. Edward stirred next to her, before Bella let him into her mind. "Mmm hmm..." he sighed contentedly, snuggling closer.

Three weeks after the Volturie had left, and things were getting back to normal, the family was sitting in the living room watching "Seven Brides for Seven Brothers" (Emmet's favorite movie). Alice and Rose were on either side of Nessie, snuggling under an electric blanket with there favorite toddler. Alice suddenly sat up with a hiss.

"Alice, honey- what's wrong?" Jasper asked his wife.

There was a knock at the door, and Alice was up in a flash.

"Phil." she grated.

If Bella were still human, her heart would have stopped, and she got to the door even before Alice did.

There, on the porch looking hesitant, even embarrassed- stood Renee, looking down at her feet.

"Mom!" Bella cried, and then remembering that her mother had not seen her since the change, roughed her voice up a little, and dropped it an octave."Where's Phil?"

"Bastard!" Alice spat venomously, though too low for human ears.

"Oh, he was drafted by the Mariners. Isn't that wonderful?"

"Why isn't he with you?" Bella demanded, incensed. What was Phil doing? He knew better than to leave her childlike mother by herself for too long!

"Well, Bella honey, because he is no longer With me. He did not want to be tied down, now that he has hit it big."

At that, Renee lifted her head, revealing a black eye.

The now familiar red haze of fury descended upon Bella's view. Edward had to wrap his arms around her to keep her from erupting in front of her mom.

"Renee," Carlisle said gently, do you have someplace to stay?"

At this, Bella's mom ducked her head in shame. "No." she whispered. "I spent all my money on the bus ticket from Seattle to Forks, and the taxi from town to here. I had no where else to go." she choked. "Bella, he had the papers already drawn up. I only had to sign them!"

Renee collapsed into her daughter's arms, not even noticing how cold and hard they would feel to her.

"You will stay here of course." Carlisle told her kindly. "We have a comfortable guest house in the back. Consider it your's now. I will take you into town tomorrow so we can buy you a car, and set you up with a bank account. You are family, and will never have to want for anything." Bella looked at her father-in-law in gratitude.

"And I will take you shopping!" Alice chirped. "Nothing makes me feel better than shopping!"

Renee looked stunned. "I wasn't expecting all that." she protested. "I just..." She trailed off.

"Like Carlisle said Renee, we are family now. We take care of our own." Edward embraced his mother-in-law.

Bella giggled as she remembered Charlie's reaction to Renee's divorce. In the course of three months, he had cut out all fast and junk foods, increased his gym time from two days a week, to six days a week, consulted with Carlisle about his nutrition and overall health, and even Alice about his fashion sense. She really put him through the paces. Trips to the spa for photo facials to smooth his complexion, as well as trips to GNC to buy all the latest in bodybuilding supplements. By the end of three months, the change to Charlie's appearance was almost as dramatic as it would be had he become a vampire.

Charlie had always been big and strong, was as tall as Emmet even, but had let his physique go to seed in the last ten years. By the time Alice had finished with him, his body fat was down to 2%, and he had gained a solid forty ponds of muscle. In fact, side by side, he was every bit as big and as impressive as Emmet. At forty years old, he actually looked thirty.

Alice also had him spending time every day taking a yoga and meditation class, in addition to a daily class in MMA training, claiming that a muscular body was only as good as the practical applications you could derive from it. He may have been a tough law enforcement officer at one time, but the relatively low crime rate in Forks had made him soft.

In fact, Alice had pretty much taken over Charlie's life, determined to mold him in whatever way her view of the future demanded. She even had him learning how to waltz with her two nights a week.

Finally, by the end of three months, Charlie showed up at Renee's doorstep, with a handful of flowers he had picked while on a walk with Alice, trying to summon up his courage to ask her to dinner.

Renee answered the door, eyes going wide, "Charlie?" she asked in disbelief. She hardly recognized the man before her. The wide shoulders, the tapered waist, the chiseled jawline, the impeccable clothing, and fashionable hair. Gone was the paunch, the slouch, and the constant air of discomfort that always surrounded him. Before stood a visually flawless specimen of manhood, looking at her as if he could not take his eyes off of her.

"Renee, would you care to go to dinner with me?" he asked, calmly.

Flustered, Renee could only dumbly nod her head. Before she could say a word however, Alice was there with a new dress and her make-up and hair kit. "Give us thirty minutes Charlie" she said as she whisked Renee away.

The end result was that Bella's parents had fallen in love all over again, and were, in fact, finishing their honeymoon in Sydney. As a wedding gift, Alice gave them the winning mega millions lottery ticket, and the shocked newlyweds found themselves fifty million dollars richer.

Charlie retired early, determined to as he put it, "make up for lost time", and the Swanns were deliriously happy.

Life was wonderful, Bella sighed again in contentment.


	3. Chapter 3

The freedom to be out in the open and enjoy the sunlight resulted in all kinds of tropical family vacations, and Emmet had discovered an interest in diving (Not needing to breathe was a huge advantage).

Emmet would disappear into ocean depths for hours.

It was beautiful.

Quiet.

Down here he could find the peaceful solitude that always seemed to allude him on the land. He could even ignore the thirst...almost.

Everyone thought Emmet childish, perhaps even a bit...intellectually challenged.

The truth, however, was that Emmet was almost always nearly overwhelmed by his thirst. If he did not distract himself with pranks, jokes, and laughter, he would be consumed by it.

Shuddering, Emmet remembered the time he _had_ lost control.

Thirty years earlier, Edward had gone to Julliard in New York, bent on seeing the latest piano prodigy fresh out of some country in Asia, taking Jasper and the girls with him(they wanted to shop, and since Jasper lost the coin toss- Emmet gained a reprieve).

Carlisle and Esme had gone out for the week end, and for the first time in his fifty plus years as a vampire, Emmet had the house all to himself!

He was so bored.

He was also quite thirsty, even though he had hunted with Carlisle and Esme before they left.

Bored and thirsty.

Two more dangerous adjectives did not exist when Emmet was concerned.

He knew the family rules. He knew better than to go out hunting alone( even Carlisle avoided it), but he was bored. He was thirsty.

Surely he was capable of going out for a quick hunt on his own without causing a catastrophe! He had only slipped once in fifty years(and, honestly, he had to admit, it hadn't really been a mistake)- he sure wasn't going to start taking risks now!

The Cullens were living in an enormous cabin they had built in the Tetons. From the living room, one could take in the awesome sight of the Snake river as it meandered on into Idaho.

Emmet decided to hike for a bit before actually hunting. He really enjoyed the beauty he found in these majestic mountains. The rolling hills he had known as a human in Tennessee were quite redolent in their verdant splendor, but for his money, nothing beat the desolate, towering, austere, beauty of these rocky sentinels.

After an hour, he began his descent into the forests several miles from Yellowstone.

Emmet caught the faint scent of a bear that had been in the area a few days earlier. It had rained that morning, so he was having trouble catching the direction the bear had taken.

In the distance, Emmet's enhanced hearing picked up the voices of two campers.

"Son, are you sure you wouldn't rather have gone to California? I hear they just opened up a new ride, I think they call it "Space Mountain."

Emmet chuckled, he and his family had been there just the previous week, and had had a blast.

"Dad", answered a young mans voice "I told you, the only kind of mountain I am interested in seeing with you is an actual mountain."

Emmet heard the young man take a deep breath, smelling the air.

"Smell that, Dad? That is the kind of fresh air that L.A has never seen. Now lets set up camp."

Emmet silently positioned himself so that he could see into the camp.

The first person he saw, caught him by surprise. From the sound of the young man's voice, Emmet would have guessed a sixteen, or seventeen year old young man. What he saw was a boy no older than thirteen. Emmet grinned to himself at the boy's exaggerated patience with his father. That grin slipped from his face when he saw a limping figure, struggling to put the tent up. It was a man in his mid to late thirties, wearing horn rimmed glasses, and limping with the aide of a cane. He had a brace of some kind on his left leg. On the whole, he looked so awkward trying to put up the tent (and failing) he had to let his son put it up for him.

"Son, I am afraid I am not much use anymore. Maybe camping isn't something I am able to do any longer."

"Dad," said the boy firmly "just because your leg is giving you problems, doesn't mean you should avoid living life. Mom would not let you to quit living,and neither will I." The boy walked over to his father, and under his father's direction, set up the tent.

Emmet watched as the scene played out before him, fascinated, and more than a little touched at the obvious love and admiration the boy had for his father.

"Thank you, Jack," the man told his son "I know it can't be easy, putting up with a gimp like your old Dad." he smiled as he said this, attempting to take the sting out of his words.

"Dad," Jack replied "I meant what I said. Just because a drunk driver took mom from us, and put you in that brace- it doesn't mean we should shut ourselves off from living life. I think mom would be more than a little disappointed if we did, don't you?"

Jack's father, looking rather shamefaced, choked out an emotional "Yes." before starting dinner.

Emmet could not believe the wisdom, and goodness found in such a young boy. He resolved to talk to Carlisle when his parents returned, about finding an anonymous way he could help the father and son.

It was time to hunt, the thirst was getting to him, and it wouldn't do to stay around and put the small family at risk.

After fifty years of being a vampire, Emmet had only slipped once.

A trip to New York, a walk through Central Park after dark, had yielded a mugger who had been in the middle of trying to rape a young woman when Emmet had come upon them.

Emmet had planned to just rough him up, then turn him in- but the villain had smelled...wonderful.

Emmet felt marginally guilty for that slip up- but not much.

With this father and son though, slipping up was not an option.

The house was quiet that night, except for the crackling of the fire he had built in the hearth.

Emmet was feeling more than a little introspective. He could not stop thinking about what he had witnessed today.

Perhaps Rosalie was right to wish for a family, Emmet thought with a sigh. But it was never going to happen.

Looking at the clock, he felt more than a little impatient, and for the first time, wished he could fall asleep. He was eager to get back to his observing the father and son. Doing so at night felt...wrong. Kind of creepy.

The next morning, Emmet fed early and heavily, not wanting to take any chances.

Coming down the mountain, he heard the unmistakable roaring of a grizzly, accompanied by frantic shouting-forcing Emmet blaze down the mountain as fast as he could. Racing through a grove of trees, he didn't even bother to put much effort in avoiding the trees, leaving the shattered remains of thick branches littered across his trail, getting there just in time to witness Jack step protectively in front of his father with a stout branch in his hands, a look of steely resolve cross his face.

A large, adult male grizzly had entered the camp, evidently smelling the food the unexperienced campers had not known to store away from the camp.

"Go on, git!!" Jack shouted at the bear, waving the branch in front of him.

"Dad," he said, from the corner of his mouth "go to the car."

"What?" his father asked shakily, but indignant just the same "I am not about to leave you here. Here are my keys, you go get in the car."

"Dad, listen to me!" Jack ordered, not taking his eyes off the bear "Get in the car, start it, then drive up behind me, honking the horn. It will scare him off!"

Reluctantly, Jack's father gave in.

"I will keep the bear distracted." the boy promised.

As the father made his way slowly to the car, the bear charged him. Fearlessly, Jack stepped into it's path, swinging the branch as hard as he could.

He might as well swung a pillow for all the good it did him. The branch shattered, and an enraged bear stood on his hind legs. With a swipe of his massive paw, he sent the boy flying, who landed in a bloodied, unmoving heap.

"Jack!!!" the father screamed, as the bear continued it's charge. Out of nowhere, the man produced a wicked looking Bowie knife, with a blade measuring at least ten inches.

Letting the bear take him, he plunged the blade into the thick folds of the bears skin, howling "Not my son, damn you!!!"

At that point, Emmet couldn't take anymore. Ignoring his father's rule to not interfere with the natural order of things, Emmet stepped in, snapping the bears neck.

Emmet immediately held his breath, as there was blood everywhere.

"Jack! My son. Please help him!" Emmet gently picked the man up, and carried him to where his son lay. The boy was dead.

"Jack? Oh my son!I'm so sorry I failed you! Just as I failed your mother! What kind of man can't even protect his family?"

Emmet felt so much guilt! He should have moved faster, gotten there sooner. Not hesitated.

Why had he left? He should have watched over the man and his son! Protected them.

"Jack? Susan?" Emmet looked down at the man, who was looking past him, smiling in relief. "I'm so glad to see you!"

Emmet looked over at the body of the boy, wondering if he had missed some sign of life.

Hope flared in his dead heart, dying out almost immediately. Jack was still unmoving. His father, however, had a look of blissful peace on his face.

" I am ready." And reaching out, the man breathed his last.

Emmet howled with grief. He had finally found a bit of humanity that had touched his heart in ways he hadn't thought possible. A rare light of unselfish love, and he had fail to protect it.

Emmet decided to carry the bodies into town, to ensure a proper buriel, but as he inhaled to let out another howl, the scent of the still fresh blood caught him off guard.

It, it sang to him.

Before he knew it, he was on the bodies, draining them both.

When he finished, he regained his senses.

Appalled at the way he had defiled the bodies of the father and son, his grief doubled, and then doubled again, crashing over him, threatening to grind him out of existence.

Letting the ocean currents carry him, Emmet came back to the present.

It had taken years to get over his grief, his shame. In truth, he never truly had.

With an inward sigh, Emmet tried to shake off his encroaching depression, seeking to rekindle his excitement. It was time to try out his invention, see if it was going to work as well as he hoped.

Sorry for taking so long to correct this, my hard drive crashed just as I tried to post this. _Thank you for reading. Please review. Wait until you see what happens next,I hope I can make it sound as interesting in writing as it does in my head. _


	4. Chapter 4

Emmet's Revelation

Discovering how much he loved diving had been a real boon to Emmet, enhancing the quality of his existence with the vibrant colors and unique life that was indigenous to the underside of the ocean's surface. He could not imagine why it took him so long to make this discovery, although having to avoid the sunlight might have had something to do with it.

He had done some night dives in recent weeks, but found that he preferred diving when the sun was out, the natural light it provided as far down as fifty feet was preferable, plus there was something to be said for stepping out of the water and into the warm sunlight. As a vampire, the cold did not bother him, although he could feel it-but the direct sunlight on his skin, even with the limited passage the meshed polymer coating permitted the solar rays, felt like heaven!

As with mortals, the direct sunlight really enhanced the mood-and lacking the ability to get a sunburn or skin cancer, with it's accompanying wrinkles and liver spots, only added to the pleasure.

Emmet's one complaint about his new hobby, had to do with the fragility of his dive gear. He had yet to find a set of fins that would permit him to swim at more than a fraction of the pace he was capable of. The second he would put any real power into his legs, his fins would shred!

The mask was another problem. Even when he could remember to curb his enthusiasm, while relegating himself to swimming at just slightly above mortal speed, his diving mask was unable to withstand the pressure of the depths he wanted to dive too. He'd had over a dozen masks implode on him, never making it deeper than two hundred feet.

Even when swimming within the limits his fins imposed on him, he would have to hold onto the mask with both hands, or else the friction of the water rushing past would tear it from his face. It just wasn't...uh, "aquadynamic" enough (Emmet didn't know if that was even a real word- but he thought it should be).

Faced with such limitations really chapped his hide. He was used running at speeds to fast for the human eye to accurately register on land, as well as being able to use his full strength (as long as there weren't any mortals present). Being unable to do so underwater ran the risk of causing Emmet to grow bored with his new passion- and given the absence of aging, he did not want to grow bored any sooner than he had too, darn it!

Emmet's frustration had given rise to an unusual amount of research and creativity on his part.

Although he had attended countless high schools and colleges, posing as a young mortal male, he had only done enough studying to pass the class. Even with the enhanced intellectual capacity being a vampire had graced him with, academia bored him, add to that the inability to go out for sports due to his natural competitive nature as well as the fragility of humans, and Emmet attended school purely so he could be with his wife, Rose.

Now, however, he found himself drudging his memory for ideas that could provide a way for him to circumvent the limitations his diving gear placed upon him.

It occurred to him that the limitations of his diving mask had to do with it's construction; both the material it was made of, as well as it's contours. This realization led him to spending an entire night searching the Internet. What he found was a company that specialized in making customized windshields for race cars out of a substance called LEXAN.

LEXAN was a material that had two hundred and fifty times the impact strength of the standard tempered glass his previous diving masks had been composed of. It also has superior clarity along with half the weight of standard glass.

Emmet designed a mask that wrapped around his face in a semi-U shape, with it ending at his temples on either side. This permitted exceptional peripheral vision. He also eliminated the space for his nose to fit in, that was standard on all diving masks, adopting instead, a ski-goggle shape. The mask had dramatically rounded curves as well, and the tip of his nose actually extended a good half inch beyond his mask.

It took the company a good six weeks to create a mask that matched his specs, and cost Emmet a great deal of money, but in the end- he had a mask made for every member of the family to have one with two replacements each.

For the fins, Emmet actually had had an epiphany while wrestling with Jasper, in order to establish the tensile strength of the latest batch of polymer spray Esme had developed. When an hour had passed, during which he and his brother had really cut loose on each other, grappling, and raining down blows that would have reduced a block of granite to fine powder, and there was still no wear on the ultra thin polymer blend, Emmet realized that if such a thin layer of the stuff could withstand so much punishment, what could a half inch layer, tapering down to a sixteenth of an inch handle?

Taking quarter inch graphite alloy rods, he built a framework based on the general shape of a diving fin, except shorter, and wider-similar to a fan he remembered his mother using to cool herself off during summer months a century earlier.

Between the rods he wove a lightweight nylon mesh, then, taking a large container of the latest batch of polymer, Emmet dipped the skeletal frame into the substance repeatedly, similar to the process he used as a child, in the Ozarks, to make candles out of twine and tallow wax.

The finished product resembled a set of frog flippers, with the exception being that Emmet had added some bright yellow coloring, and some last minute additional framework that ran up the back of the calves, providing greater stability to the fins. They looked pretty good actually, and his family was quite impressed/surprised at his ingenuity. He didn't know whether to feel flattered by their praise, or insulted by their surprise.

Emmet smiled at the memories of the last few months, while letting the oceanic currents carry him where they may.

The visual acuity granted by his newly designed mask was astounding. As it was fully transparent, the peripheral view the mask provided him with almost felt as if he weren't even wearing a mask!

Deciding it was time to try the other half of of his project, Emmet gave an experimental kick of his legs, and was delighted at the fluid ease with which he moved through the water.

Emboldened by this, he tried a series of short, powerful kicks, and was rewarded with rocketing gracefully through the ocean depths. Whats more, his mask was not the least bit fazed by the movement.

Emmet had seen enough.

Cutting loose with reckless abandoned, he kicked his legs at full power, tucking his arms to his side to reduce any drag. The power the fins provided him with was both enormous, and flexible. He shot through the water with what was surely record breaking speed. In fact, the purchase his fins gave him in the water enabled him to swim even faster than he could run. Hell! Even faster than Edward could run!!

Gracefully twisting his torso, Emmet turned back towards the yacht, and within moments could see the dark silhouette of the ship's underside. Directing himself towards the surface, he poured on the speed- launching himself out of the water and over the the flying bridge!

"Wahoo!!!" Emmet crowed at the top of his lungs, an exultant gleam in his eyes. The Cullens looked up in astonishment as he sailed up, up, up and over their heads, diving into the water on the other side of the ship.

It worked. He had had an idea that wasn't a prank, and it worked!

Thrilled beyond measure at his unexpected success, Emmet rolled onto his back-slowly kicking his feet, moving lazily through the water, as he admired the effect the sun had on the water as it danced on the surface, and wondering what his family's response would be when he resurfaced.

Lost in thought, he was surprised when the sunlight suddenly disappeared, and he felt a delicate pressure on the outside of his stomach as he was gently tossed first one way, and then another.

"You gotta be kidding me!" Emmet thought incredulously, "I'm being attacked by a shark!"

Looking around, he found himself immersed in a toothy snowstorm, teeth falling all about him, as they broke off the mouth of the shark that was frantically beginning to realize it had bitten off more than it could chew.

"Huh," he thought "so this is what a shiatsu massage feels like."

Emmet looked around the inside of the shark's mouth, idly noting that based upon the shape of the tooth, and if the Discovery channel was to be believed, he was being "savaged" by a great white shark. He also noticed an artery angling down the shark's throat.

"I have always wondered what seafood tastes like." And without even pausing to wonder if it was compatible with his vampire body, tore into the artery.

The blood roared out of the open wound with impressive force, as Emmet clamped his lips over the flow. It punched him in the back of the throat, causing his eyes to widen in surprise as he took in the flavor. It was rich, meaty, fulfilling. Compared to this, human blood was even more bland than herbivore blood!

But the biggest shock of all, was that the fire in the back of his throat suddenly became quenched! Emmet was left with a feeling he had never known. Satisfaction. He felt beyond satiated. It was like having a deep itch for so long you've become accustomed to it, only to be astounded by relief when it is finally scratched.

The shark suddenly spasmed as it's heart gave out, weakened with blood loss, and died. Emmet reached down and pried open the jaws, wriggling out of the now dead shark's grasp.

Watching as the carcass of the predator turned prey spiraled out of sight, disappearing into the depths, he made his way back to the boat, his mind racing, opening with limitless possibilities.

Without the distraction of the thirst, the clarity of his thought process was beyond description.

Coming up on the boat, he launched himself from the surface once again, only this time, landing gracefully on the deck.

With a grin, Emmet removed his diving mask, prepared to receive a fair amount of praise over the effectiveness of his new diving gear. What he got instead, was a collective gasp of shock from his family as he looked up.

"Emmet," Rose whispered "your eyes- they're green!"


	5. Chapter 5

A Portent Of Things To Come

"Green? What are you going on about, Rose?"

Wordlessly Alice handed Rose a hand-mirror, who in turn held it up for her husband to look into.

Emmet stared at his reflection, mouth agape. His eyes were indeed green; a deeper, more intense shade than ever a pair of eyes were.

Emmet thought he looked pretty hot, actually.

"Emmet, dear, what happened to your swimming trunks? Esme asked her son, looking down at the tattered remnants hanging about his waist.

"Oh, a great white decided to have me for lunch, bu-u-t, I had him instead."

Carlisle gasped, "Son, we don't even know if that is safe. Animals and humans are one thing, but sea life? They aren't even warmblooded!"

"And we are?" Emmet retorted. "Carlisle, I have never fed on anything so amazing. Humans are absolutely bland by comparison. Whats more, my thirst is gone. The burning in my throat? It is as if it never were!"

Stunned, all Carlisle could think to say was "Are you sure..." Before Alice suddenly jerked to her feet, here eyes distant. "Charlie!" Came her agonized cry. "Renee!"

Bella was at her side in a flash, her eyes wild with concern for her parents.

"Alice, what is it? What did you see?" she asked frantically.

"A car accident." Alice choked. "They decided to drive down to the dock a day early to surprise us. They plan on taking a skiff out to the boat, but in five minutes, a child is going to run into the street causing Charlie to swerve to avoid hitting her. They are going to wrap their car around a tree!" she finished, sobbing.

Emmet's mind started whirring, "In less than five minutes?" Alice nodded. "They are how far from the dock, Alice?"

"Ten miles."

Emmet started thinking fiercely, suddenly, unbidden, an image came to his mind. Charlie and Renee talking happily. Renee looking up and screaming "Charlie, look out!" Charlie swerving, hitting a tree.

Surprised, Emmet still had the presence of mind to take in the surroundings. He recognized it from the other day, it was the last place his family had gone to hunt. He relayed this info to his family.

"How do you..." Carlisle began, then shook himself "It doesn't matter. What matters is how are we going to get there in time? If we were on land, we could run it in no time, but on water, even taking the ski boat is too slow-oof!" Emmet had thrown his father a set of his fins and a mask, then gave one to everyone else. "Just follow me."

Everybody put on their gear as quick as they could, and followed Emmet over the side of the yacht, and into the water.

"Try and keep up." he said, and he was off.

It took a sixteenth of a second for everyone to get the idea of how their gear worked, in that amount of time, Emmet was already out of sight.

Following Alice, the family made it too shore within two and a half minutes. From there, they all picked up Emmet's scent and sped after him.

They were too late.

When the Cullens got to the scene of the accident, Emmet had been there for forty-five seconds, the wrecked remains of the rental car had been torn in half, as Emmet had gotten Bella's parents out. He had them laying on the ground, where they were both thrashing about, keening in agony.

Emmet had blood on his face.

"Emmet," Bella screeched, "what the hell did you do to my parents?!" She slammed into him, sounding like a landslide- and rebounded like a shot, as apparently, Emmet hadn't budged an inch.

Bella looked at him in shock, she was still stronger than her brother- hell- they had arm wrestled just that morning and she had won. Again!

"I'll explain later, Bella." Emmet said, without looking at her. "Right now, trust me when I tell you, there was no other choice. The damage was too severe. The impact ruptured both of their spleens, Charlie was in the beginning stages of a severe heart attack from almost bleeding out. Renee put her head through the windshield, just nicking her jugular- she had maybe three minutes left before that nick led her to follow after Charlie. Now hush, I need to concentrate." At that, Emmet closed his eyes, and focused.

Within seconds, both Charlie and Renee quieted into what appeared to be peaceful slumber.

"Emmet," Edward asked,"what did you do?"

"It's the shark's blood." Emmet replied simply.

"Shark's blood made you faster, stronger, and able to see the future?" Edward asked, skeptically.

"No," Emmet heaved a sigh. "I told you that it was the most amazing thing I have ever fed on. My thirst is gone. Completely."

Too demonstrate, Emmet ran his fingers over a healing wound on Charlie's head, bringing the dripping blood to his nose, and inhaling deeply. "See? Nothing. I could walk into an operating room with surgery in progress, and not feel a thing."

"Even so," Carlisle said, "that doesn't explain everything else."

"Actually, it kind of does." Emmet said patiently. "The thirst affects all vampires differently, but it does affect us. Weakens us. "

"What do you mean?" Jasper asked.

"I think the best way to describe it is to use a metaphor." Emmet went on. "Think of the thirst as the vampire equivalent of the humans hyperactive attention deficit disorder. If you are a vegetarian vampire, like us, you spend a lot of energy just controlling your thirst for humans. If you are like the volturie, you are enslaved by your thirst. Either way, we are all weakened by it."

"However," Emmet continued, "I have learned, that in the absence of the thirst, I am able to utilize all the talents that vampires should have. If I concentrate, I can read minds like Edward, though to a limited degree. Those who have certain talents the strongest, are able to manifest them even through the thirst."

"What I have done here," he said, gesturing to the Swans. "is use a variation on Alec's talent. I have eliminated the pain of the transformation. Also, while you were all getting your gear on, I grabbed Carlisle's medical bag, and following Edward's example with Bella, I have injected several full syringes of venom into the heart's of both Charlie and Renee, along with full injections into each arm, leg, and into the neck. I estimate that the process will be complete in less than two more hours. We need to get them back to the boat before than, and sharks blood prepared for each. I will meet you at the beach with the boat from the ship in twenty minutes." And with that, he left running so fast, that even Edward could barely track him with his eyes.

"Whoa." Edward said, "Emmet saves the day, and make an amazing discovery. Who would have thought?"

Bella and Rose as one smacked Edward on the back of the head. "Be nice." said Bella, at the same time Rose said, beaming with pride "That's MY husband."


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6 Welcome To The Family

By the time the Cullen were able to discreetly transfer Charlie and Renee to the beach, Emmet was already there waiting for them.

"I'll help you secure the Swans, then head back to the boat to make preparations." He looked over at Jasper, "We need to catch a couple of great whites and harvest their blood. Bet I can catch a bigger shark than you can." he challenged his brother.

"Oh, you are so on!" and laughing, the brothers raced to the water, Jasper tripping Emmet on the way, and getting a half second head start.

Esme shook her head, "Those boys will never grow up." she said, fondly.

"Do you really want them to?" her husband asked, in an amused tone.

"Good heavens, no!" she replied, with a giggle.

"I'd have to agree with you, there." Rosalie told her mother. "So far, I am liking what I am seeing. However, I'm a little nervous about where it is going to end up,"

"How so?" asked Carlisle.

"Well, Emmet is clearly still Emmet. But...well, when have you ever seen him take charge in an emergency? And so effectively. He knew exactly what he was doing-had zero doubt. Pranks, I'm used to- but genius? I'm not so sure. It's more than a little unnerving." Rose replied.

"You should be proud, Rose." Carlisle admonished his daughter. "I think Emmet has discovered something that will permanently change our lives. I can hardly wait to study the interactions between sharks blood, and our systems. Imagine it! Life without the thirst."

"It is an amazing concept." Rose agreed, "Yet, what are the long term effects?"

Alice smiled, "Don't worry Rosie," she said, using Emmet's pet name for his wife, causing her to frown. "I am seeing a brilliant future ahead of us."

Figuring enough time had passed, the Cullens loaded the Swans up in the ski-boat, and headed back to the ship.

Upon arriving back at the yacht, Edward and Bella gently unloaded her parents, laying them on make-shift beds that Emmet and Jasper had put together.

The brothers were running some rubber tubing up from below deck, leading one to each of the Swans.

Emmet smiled apologetically at his mother, "We harvested two great whites..."

"Mine was bigger." Jasper interrupted with a wicked grin, and green eyes.

Emmet gave his brother a high five, before continuing. "...and drained their blood into one of the hot water tanks. We have one for every shower on board, eleven, I figured we could spare one, and this way keep the blood at the proper temperature. We collected over twenty gallons, it only took three to satisfy me. Two plus for Jasper. If need is based on size, there should be enough for all, if you are willing."

"It really was the most amazing experience." Jasper said quietly. "My thirst is finally gone, and the possibilities are...endless. Amazing. I can sense...so much more. With greater control."

"We have less than five minutes before they wake." Emmet said. "We should get ready."

Inserting a tube into Charlie's mouth, he taped it in place.

"As they start showing signs of consciousness," he continued "Jasper is going to sooth any panic they might be feeling, and I am going to work the hand-pump I have attached to the water heater, starting the blood flowing to their mouths. After the first taste, their instincts should kick in, permitting nature to take it's course. It is my firm belief that any "newborn" symptoms, will be negated."

Emmet finished setting up Renee, and then went below deck to man the hand pump.

As one, Charlie and Renee opened their blood-red eyes. Immediately Jasper began to sooth them.

"They are waking up!" Bella hollered down to Emmet.

The Cullens watched the blood as it traveled up the tubes, and into the individual mouths of the Swans.

Man and wife convulsively swallowed in sync, and continued to pull desperately at the blood for several minutes.

Satiated, they both sat up, and with concurrent sighs, reached up and removed their tubes.

Opening their now green eyes, they looked at each other with huge smiles. I knew that there was something otherworldly about this family. Seeing the changes in Bella this past year, only strengthened that suspicion. But vampires? I didn't see that coming."

"I'm so sorry mom," Bella said, beseechingly, "it was the only way to save your lives."

Looking Charlie, Bella went on, "Dad, can you ever forgive me? I am just too selfish to want to spend my immortality without you. It Would have happened, eventually, as soon as I could find a way to justify the action. This way, I had no need to rationalize. Thank you for making the decision for me, Emmet. If I survive their wrath, I will love even more than I already did. Forever!"

"Immortality, huh?" Charlie murmured. "Bella, how can I be angry at the notion of spending forever with you and your mother? I have always believed we will be together in the after-life, but I love the idea of getting an early start."

Turning to Emmet, he asked "I could hear everything you said while I was out, we really aren't going to have hunt humans?"

"Charlie, nothing compares to what you have just had. Most newbies are out of their minds with thirst right now, the burning in their throats, uncontrollable. Do you feel ANY of that?"

"No." Charlie and Renee said together.

"Nor will you," Emmet said. "at least for now. I am not sure how long we are able to go between feedings. With the animals we have fed on, we could go for a couple of weeks between hunts, but I always felt the thirst immediately. I was just able to control it for up to two weeks."

Emmet continued, "I fed on a great white for the first time earlier today, and I feel absolutely no thirst whatsoever."

"But there is more," Carlisle said. "without the thirst, Emmet appears to be considerably stronger, faster, and his thought process has been exponentially enhanced."

Renee looked at Emmet, "So you are smarter? You've always seemed more than intelligent to me, Emmet, just a trifle distracted."

"All vampires are inherently extremely intelligent, from the time of the transformation on. Controlling the thirst appears to have detracted enormously from our native abilities. Since Emmet fed, the differences has been more than noticeable. It was Emmet who got to you first, and saved you."

Emmet smiled gently, "I could never have done that before. Any exposure to your blood, from so close, would have been more than I could have resisted. As fond as I am of the both of you, in such a situation, before I fed on that shark, I would NOT have been able to resist feeding on you."

Charlie stood up, and reaching down for his wife said, "That's good enough for me."

Stepping into the sun, Renee gasped, "Charlie! Look at your skin." Her eyes bulged, looking at her husband up close for the first time. "Y-y-you're beautiful!!"

"Not nearly as beautiful as you." Charlie told his wife, marveling at the differences in the both of them.

"Oh, you haven't seen anything yet!" Alice said gleefully. "Lets all go diving!" and passing out the diving gear, she explained not needing to breathe.

Just before everyone jumped in the water, Carlisle called out-"Wait a minute. I have seen enough. Emmet, pass me that tube, you are NOT out swimming me this time." he chuckled.


	7. Chapter 7

Ch.7 Welcome To Forever

Renee looked around, taking in the world around her, for what felt like the first time.

Bella, noticing a slightly dazed look on her mother's face, attempted to give comfort. "Don't worry Renee, there are usually some lost memories from your human life during the transition, but with some effort, you can hold on to most of them."

Renee looked at her daughter in outrage, "Excuse me? What did you just say to me?"

Bella, mistaking her mother's reaction for the typical newborn histrionics, tried to soothe her. "I just meant..."

"I know what you meant!" Renee interrupted her daughter, " I am not an imbecile. My memories are as clear as ever, more so even. In fact, my memories are so intact, I am remembering things I didn't even realize I knew. I even remember when and where I conceived you!"

"Ooh! Ick. TMI!" Bella tried too put her hands over her ears. Her mother's grip stopped them in place.

"What I am upset about, my darling, is that you called me by my first name. Isabella Swan Cullen, you may have become immortal before me, but I am still your mother- if you ever call me by my name again, I will put you over my knee and spank you!"

"Hear, hear!" said Charlie, coming up beside his daughter. "It is a dreadful thing, when a child refers to the parent on a first name basis. It denigrates the emotional infrastructure of the parent/child bond. Plus, it hurts my feelings."

Bella's parents suddenly burst out in laughter, Renee's tinkling, musical laughter, blending in perfect harmony with Charlie's basso, cello-like, chuckle. Bella joined in after a millisecond, and then parents and daughter came together in a tight group hug.

"I love you both, so much." Bella choked.

"We love you more, darling." Renee cooed to her only- born.

"Ditto," Charlie said "but we meant what we said. We are your parents, please don't insult us by addressing us by name."

"I wont." Bella promised.

Carlisle, touched by what he had witnessed, addressed the newest members of the family. "What I want to know is, do you both truly remember everything, in regards to your mortal lives?"

"Clear as a bell." Charlie affirmed.

"Carlisle," Emmet broke in "do you remember what I said about the thirst acting as the vampire equivalent to ADHD?" Carlisle nodded. "Well, just as the body becomes so much stronger in the translation, I believe that the thirst would be exponentially stronger than the mortal condition. In short, I think that we will really need to spend a lot of time studying the new differences in our lives."

"I wholeheartedly agree," Carlisle told his son "but until then, are we going to try out your new dive gear some more or what?"

Everybody was quickly back in the water.

Spirits were high, almost to the point of giddiness. The slaking of the thirst that was the result of everyone feeding on sharks blood had everyone feeling a controlled euphoria. Even so, the boys immediately started a competition, to see who could leap the highest from the water, Carlisle and Charlie were more than enthusiastic participants.

Emmet set the record by leaping close to two hundred feet. Everyone else was close.

Renee, who in mortality was anything but competitive, wanted in on the action. Her first leap was slightly wobbly, as she had to adjust to her new strength. Her second leap, however, smashed Emmet's record by a good eighty feet. Laughing with delight as she dove from her amazing leap was so infectious, even Emmet couldn't feel disappointed.

"I want to do one more." she called out,"This feels like one of my dreams I always have, where I am flying!" and disappearing under the water, she dove deep to build up some "running" room.

Bursting from the water, Renee stretched out her hands, reaching for the sky, mentally urging herself to go further, further. Two hundred twenty feet, two fifty, three hundred. Laughing at her triumph, she looked forward to a spectacular dive. Looking down, she realized, she wasn't falling. She-she-she was hovering! No! She was Flying!!

Hearing Emmet smack himself in the head, Renee looked down just in time to see him duck beneath the waves, only to burst forth seconds later. He soared up to her height, grinning like a little boy in a candy factory.

"Of course!" he exclaimed. "You not only are not hampered by the thirst, you have no preconceived, faulty notions of our capabilities. You are amazing!" Emmet gave his new Auntie a big hug.

"Come on up, everybody," he called down, "the air is fine."

Shortly, the air was full of the fabulous, flying Cullens(and Swans).

"I will be interested," Carlisle told Charlie, "to see what else you and Renee come up with."

Charlie looked at Carlisle, "Don't look at me," he said "Renee was always the free spirit. It makes sense she would stumble across something so amazing."

"Even so," Carlisle told his new brother warmly, "I think it would be wise, to not tell you both too much about our world."

"Kind of late for that, don't you think?" Charlie replied sardonically.

"I only mean, inasmuch as I want to avoid you two setting any false limitations on yourselves."

"Oh."

After an hour of atmospheric frolicking, everybody lightly landed on the boat.

"I don't know about any of you," Renee said, tugging on her husbands hand, " but I am ready for a hot shower with my husband, and since I am not hunger, I'd like to turn in for the night. Is there a spare room?"

Esme took Renee's hand, "Of course, dear." she said, leading the Swans down into the yacht. "I must say, I am thrilled to finally have a sister."

Edward looked at Carlisle, "We haven't told her about not being able to sleep. Should we?"

"Dear," Bella said, gently, "I don't think sleep is anywhere on her mind right now."

"Oh," he said, embarrassed.

"I for one think a hot shower is a wonderful idea." Alice said, taking Jasper's hand. "Come on Darling, if you are nice- I'll let you scrub my back." she purred.

Walking down the stairs, and into the main room, Bella noticed Jacob and Ness playing Uno.

Ness was almost a year and a half old now, but looked eight. She was flirting outrageously with Jacob, who tolerated such behavior with humor, patience, and not a little sternness. Nessie may have the mental and emotional development of an adult- but Jacob was more than militantly strict about propriety. A fact both Edward and Bella more than appreciated.

"Ness, dear, did you feed on any of the shark's blood?"

Ness looked up at her mother, revealing the same, warm, brown eyes, but now with flecks of emerald in them.

"Yum!" was all she said, before going back to her game.

Taking a huge bite of super fudge brownie ice cream, she levitated a full foot off the ground, sitting Indian style, smacking Jacob on top of his head. "Heh, Jake! Not only are you getting beat by a little girl, but now, you can't even be taller than me unless I let you! How do you like them apples, big man?"

"In a pie with all the other "apples"," he growled, snatching her out of the air and subjecting her to a brutal tickling. "You know, the Washington Red apples, the Golden Delicious apples, the Granny Smith apples...the horse apples." he snorted.

"Horse apples!? Oh Jake, yer GROSS!!!"

"I know you are, but what am I?" Jacob taunted Ness.

"Daddy!!" Ness shrieked, reaching a hand out to her father beseechingly.

"I'm sorry, Dear, but I'm afraid you have to live with the consequences of angering a werewolf," he said, with a wink at Jacob. "there IS a reason they are our natural enemy, you know." With that, Edward led his wife to their room, and subsequent shower.

"He is not a werewolf, he's a shape shifter!" Ness called after her father.

Edward was rather quiet, standing under the multi-headed shower, as he lathered up his wife, slowly massaging her shoulders.

"M-mmm!" Bella sighed, letting her husband's fingers work their magic. "What's the matter, babe? Werewolf got your tongue?"

"No, I'm just thinking. Nessie is right, Jake isn't a true werewolf. None of the Quilutes are. I wonder what it is, that makes our venom so dangerous too them?"

"Natural defense?" Bella guessed. "They are meant to destroy the bad vampires."

Edward sighed, "I know, but I worry about what is going to happen when Jacob does start to age. Is it a choice? If it isn't, he's not immortal. He will one day grow old, and die. Alice says she sees Nessie has imprinted on Jake every bit as much as Jake has imprinted on her- one day, they WILL marry. I view him as a cross between a brother and a son, I want him around for Nessie, and us."

"We will work it out, dear, don't worry about it. Now come here, let me make a man out of you."


	8. Chapter 8

Ch.8 "Yawn!!"

After a luxurious night, holding hands with her husband, and discussing the possible ramifications of all the recent changes in their lives, Bella tiptoed down the hallway to her parents bedroom. Pausing to discreetly listen for any reason she should avoid knocking, she heard something more shocking, and possibly disturbing than the sound of her parents making love. She heard her father's familiar snore! Even Renee was breathing in a deep, slow, and rhythmic manner.

Not bothering to knock, Bella quietly opened the door to her parent's bedroom. Charlie and Renee were snuggled together, under the sheets... and sound asleep!! Charlie had a look of perfect contentment on his face. Renee looked almost child-like in her innocent, blissful slumber.

Bella leaned back against the door, staggered. How was this possible? Vampires could not sleep. At all. She herself, had felt no weariness since the first day of her immortality.

Quietly closing the door, Bella silently dashed up the stairs, going up on deck to find her father-in-law.

"Carlisle!" she hissed.

The head of the Cullen family immediately stood up, concern for his daughter-in-law, plain on his face.

"What is it? What's wrong?" he asked.

"Come here. Now!" Bella ordered, shocking everyone. Bella seldom gave orders, least of all to her father-in-law!

Dashing down the stairs after his daughter-in-law, Carlisle quietly followed her to the Swan's bedroom door.

Bella opened the door, and pointed to her sleeping parents.

Stunned, Carlisle simply whispered, "How?"

"Thats what I was going to ask you." she said. "This is not normal. Have you ever seen anything like this?"

"Never." he responded.

Renee's eyes fluttered open, and she sat up with a brilliant smile. Yawning wide, she sang "Good morning!". Lifting her arms above her head, she gave a mighty stretch, forgetting about the sheet, which fell about her waist, revealing her now perfect, gravity defiant, breasts.

Embarrassed, Carlisle turned his back.

Stirring, Charlie asked, " Bella, you aren't planning one of your lectures on the evils of sleeping in, are you? You can't exactly waste time, if you are immortal. Otherwise, what is the point?" he grumbled.

"Dad, you shouldn't be able to sleep at all." Bella explained gently. "No vampire ever has!"

"Huh," Charlie said, unconcerned. "have you ever tried?"

Carlisle mutely shook his head.

"Then how do you know you can't?" Charlie asked. "I wont say I felt tired, exactly. But after last night..." his eyes drifted over to his wife. "It just felt like the natural thing to do."

Nodding her head in agreement, Renee said "Oh yeah. I don't remember sex _ever _being like that. WOW!" Embarrassing everyone in the room with her frankness. "Plus," she went on "I had the best dreams. So much more vivid than I am used too!"

" Well, we will give you some privacy." Carlisle offered, backing out with Bella. "We will meet you topside." Quietly, he told his daughter-in-law, "Time for a family council. Go get everybody."


	9. Chapter 9

Ch. 9

Renee lay in bed, cuddled up next to Charlie, who seemed to be lost in thought.

"What do you make of the reaction our sleeping has elicited?" she asked her twice husband.

"I'm not entirely sure," he admitted. "seems to be an awful lot of fuss to make over something so natural as sleeping." he thought for a minute, then continued "When Edward changed Bella, I eventually figured out something was different about our daughter; with some help from Jake" he finished with a grimace, remembering his shock at seeing his best friend's son suddenly morph into a draft horse-sized, wolfish nightmare. " However, I was more than reluctant to get all the details, so this is the first I've heard about the inability to sleep."

" Sleeping may be natural," Renee commented, "but according to my understanding, we are not. I don't know if I can agree with that sentiment, though. I feel as though I am finally complete. I have never been this happy, if I have to sacrifice sleeping to be with you forever, so be it. It's a fair enough trade."

"They didn't say it wasn't permitted," Charlie said, taking his wife's hand and bringing it to his lips. "they said it wasn't possible. I think we had better get up to that family meeting."

"Oh?" Renee said, teasingly. "Are we changing our names to Cullen, then?"

"Are you kidding me?" Charlie asked his wife with a grin, then slipping on his jeans he struck a bodybuilder's pose, momentarily taking his wife's breath away."I have had my last name all my life, but this is the first time I can start living up to it." turning to the full-length mirror behind him, he finished dressing, than said in a facetious tone, while running his hands through his hair "Goodbye 'ugly duckling'. Hello-o-o, Mr. Beautiful." Waggling his eyebrows at Renee, he asked "What do you think, babe, am I finally a Swan?"

Wrapping her arms around her husbands waist, she kissed him soundly "You always were, I just wasn't smart enough to realize that the first time. I will never make that mistake, ever again."

Hand in hand, Charlie and Renee ascended the stairs to the deck, where everybody was engaged in conversation.

Charlie went to join them while Renee decided to become more familiar with the ship. Coming up behind Esme, she linked arms and said "Come show me around."

Delighted at the chance, Esme readily complied, showing Renee all the bedrooms, the rec-room, the engine room, and finished in the kitchen.

"We just restocked the fridge and cupboards a couple of days ago, in anticipation of your and Charlie's arrival. Bella was very adamant that we have all your favorite foods on hand." looking in the deep-freeze, Esme chuckled "It looks like a certain grand daughter decided to take liberties with the super fudge brownie ice cream her mother insisted we have on hand for your visit."

"Yum," Renee replied, pulling out the ice cream, popping off the lid, and grabbing a spoon in one fluid millisecond. She decided she better eat some now before Charlie found out, super fudge brownie was his favorite as well.

She was into her third bite, enraptured at how much better the ice cream tasted to her now that her senses were so richly enhanced, when she noticed Esme staring at her, mouth open and with shock written all over her face. Embarrassed, Renee quickly slipped the lid back on the container."I'm sorry," she said "it was terribly rude of me to eat from the carton like that. You must think I am such a cow."

"Not in the least," Esme replied faintly "How do you feel?" She asked in alarm. "Do you want a bowl to cough it up in?"

"Why?" Renee asked, looking at her new sister strangely. "I know we haven't had breakfast yet, but I've always found that a little bit of chocolate first thing in the morning, is a great way to start the day. Unless..." she trailed off, looking at Esme, "Is this another one of those things we just aren't supposed to do?"

Esme nodded her head.

"What is it with you guys?" she said, exasperated " Is general abstinence a religious thing with you? I mean, just because you _can_ live without, doesn't mean you _should_, you know." she finished, with a little more heat than she intended. She wasn't trying to be rude, but she was very defensive about her chocolate addiction. In fact, it was the only thing she and Bella ever fought over. Her daughter, who was used to being the voice of reason, crossed the line when she threw out all the chocolate in the house, declaring that she would not stand by while her mother ate herself into a diabetic coma.

Normally submissive, Renee had actually put her foot down in a rare display of temper, explaining to her bossy daughter just what had happened to the last person that had tried to come between her and her beloved chocolate. She grinned at the memory of an ashen faced, and thoroughly cowed Bella, dashing out the door to the grocery store, where she spent half her allowance replacing the chocolate she had just thrown away.

"It's not a religious thing at all," Esme finally said, " we are just unable to digest anything but blood."

Renee's eyes about popped out of her head. "Are you kidding me?" she asked. "Blood? Don't get me wrong, that sharks blood was amazing! I look forward to having it again sometime. But I just happen to love good food. Where do you think Bella learned how to cook so well?"

Looking at Esme, Renee narrowed her eyes, considering. "have you ever even _tried _this kind of ice cream?"

"No. I was changed almost a hundred years ago, ice cream was a rare treat, I had only ever had it a few times. I couldn't even tell you if I had liked it or not."

"What about chocolate, have you ever had that?"

Esme shook her head. "All we ever had was baking chocolate. I snitched some from my mother's pantry once, but it was ghastly stuff, tasted nothing like it smelled. I never had the desire to try after that, and once I changed, the only thing I ever craved was blood."

Sighing, she continued, "Even that was never really satisfying, because it was _human_ blood that I craved, and we only feed on animal blood."

"And sharks blood," Renee finished for her.

"Yes, and sharks blood." Remembering, she went on "Actually, Carlisle did bring home human blood for first Bella when she was pregnant, and then Nessie until she was ready to hunt with us. I admit, I snitched a bag, just to try it. I felt like a rebellious teen, sneaking into her parent's liquor cabinet." Sighing again, she went on "At the time, it tasted wonderful, but I felt so horrible afterward!"

" I don't understand," Renee said "how can _anything_ taste better than sharks blood?"

"Nothing does." Esme admitted, "But keep in mind, Emmet discovered it by accident. He was attacked while diving, and retaliated without even thinking about possible consequences. Thank God for that boy's rash behavior, though. If he hadn't made that discovery, we would all be beyond occupied trying to contain you and Charlie for at least the year it would take you to learn to control the thirst."

"But the sharks blood fixed that?"

"For now, anyway. We don't know how long we can expect to feel satiated. But like Emmet said, the thirst has always been with us, even after we have gorged ourselves silly. This is the first time any of us have ever been without it. For all we know, this is the first time a vampire has _ever_ been without the thirst. I imagine Carlisle will insist we stay until he can get to the bottom of this, however long it takes."

Renee gave a delicate snort, "An extended vacation, how dreadful. Now, as apparently there are some changes happening, and as I feel fine, even better than fine, actually," she held up the ice cream and two spoons " how about I introduce you to the wonderful world of super fudge brownie ice cream?"

Hesitantly, Esme reached for the extra spoon, and with some trepidation, scooped up some ice cream. Looking at her sister who nodded encouragingly, she closed her eyes, and put the spoon into her mouth.

Up on deck, the rest of the family were deep in conversation.

"So, let me get this straight," Charlie said "not one of you have ever slept since changing? At all?"

"Not once." Edward told his father-in-law.

Charlie looked at his daughter's husband, "When exactly did you say you were changed?" he asked.

Edward shifted uncomfortably, " A hundred years ago, give or take." he said evasively.

"YOU ARE OVER ONE HUNDRED YEARS OLD?" Charlie roared "What? Couldn't find anyone your own age?" Dropping his voice to a harsh whisper, he said menacingly, "That's it, you are no longer my son-in-law!!"

Shocked by Charlie vehemence, everybody could only watch the exchange in tension filled silence.

Charlie stretched to his full height, gazing down at Edward. "From now on," he grated in fury. "when you and I converse..." he trailed off, ominously. "I will call you Geri."

Emmet roared with laughter, and after a moment, Charlie joined him.

"What?" asked a confused Edward.

"Oh c'mon, Edward." Emmet howled, gleefully. "Geri? As in _Geri-atric_!"

Everybody burst into laughter, until finally, Edward joined in.

"So seriously," Charlie asked after everyone had calmed down. "you haven't slept in over a hundred years?"

"No." said Edward. "Carlisle hasn't slept in over four hundred years."

"And Aro hasn't slept in over twenty five hundred years." Carlisle interjected.

"Aro?" Charlie asked, "Who is that?"

"It's a long story, Dad," Bella explained, "I'll tell you later."

"So this is why everybody is overreacting to Renee and I sleeping?"

"Actually, Charlie," Carlisle said, "I don't know if it can be called overreacting. This is a singularly, unprecedented event. We need to figure out how you did it."

"Uh, I closed my eyes and relaxed after Renee and I..." he stopped, embarrassed.

Emmet grinned, appreciatively. "The thing is, Unca' Chuck, Vampires don't get tired, even after having sex. Why Rose and I once fooled around for seven days straight without stopping. Afterwards we got up and went..." he shuddered, "shopping."

"Hey," Rose said "a deal is a deal. Seven days for seven days."

"Don't remind me," Emmet rasped, "the horror, oh the horror!"

Rose smacked him on the back of the head "Oh lighten up, Drama Queen. I don't do that anymore, so stop complaining."

Everybody stopped talking as they heard Esme and Renee coming up the stairs, giggling for all they were worth.

"...so the parrot tells the burglar, 'no, my name is Moses. Jesus is the pitbull standing behind you!" Laughing for all they were worth, the two came up on deck.

Everyone looked on in shock. Both Renee and Esme had what appeared to be chocolate ice cream, all over their faces.


	10. Chapter 10

Ch.10 A Moving Experience

The sounds of steaks sizzling on the grill mixed with the aroma of seasoned, cooking meat, proved to be a potent combination, capable of reducing Jacob to a near drooling state, as he watched Renee use the stainless steel grill with rapt attention.

The Cullens, fidgeting a bit at the prospect of attempting to sit down and eat a human meal in it's entirety, set the table in a state that could only be described as semi-morose. Except for Esme, she was still quite enthused over her first experience with chocolate, and was doing most of the work, efficiently setting the table at record speed.

"Carlisle," muttered a discomfited Edward. "are we really going to go through with this?"

"Shh," his father replied "do you really want to risk hurting your mother and your mother-in-laws feelings? Or worse, making them angry?"

"I see your point," Edward said, somewhat ruefully " yet I have never had an enjoyable experience with human food, since... since I was human. Even the bite of pizza I took to please Bella was unpleasant."

"Look," Carlisle said "we are witnessing some profound changes in our lives, we need to learn to adapt. The worse that can happen by humoring the two moms, is that we all have to discreetly hack up a full meal. Maybe, after the experience, Renee will understand why we avoid food a little better." he grimly chuckled. Then, he thoughtfully added "However, I have been watching Esme closely since she and Renee ate the ice cream, I haven't seen any sign of discomfort, or other negative side effects. She has yet to bother coughing any of it up, which might rule out the possibility that she is just humoring her new sister."

"Dinners ready." Renee sang out, eerily reminiscent of Alice.

Jacob was sitting at the table before Renee even finished her sentence, struggling to remember his manners, and not reach out to grab half a dozen steaks before the rest of the family joined him. He watched, in a seemingly hypnotic trance, as a large plate, loaded with meat was placed in the middle of the table, yelping when an equally large bowl of salad followed.

"Whats with the rabbit food?" he grumbled.

Nessie, sitting next to him, smirked, throwing an elbow into his side, bruising his ribs.

"Quit whining mutt, if I have to eat my veggies, so do you!"

This caused Charlie to snort with laughter.

Charlie had been almost as beside himself with fury as Bella had been, once he was told about the mutual imprinting. In fact, it took Emmet, Jasper, Edward, and Carlisle to hold him down, while Bella reminded him that his best friend would not take kindly to having his son murdered.

Renee, however, took the whole thing in stride, and treated Jacob with the same affection she felt for her granddaughter.

With everybody seated, Renee picked up a glass filled with sparkling cider. "I would like to propose a toast. To family, new life, an eternity of joy and excitement, and a greater understanding of our place in the world." With that, she drained her glass, smacking her lips with gusto, and, to everyones astonishment, burped.

Noticing that she was at the center of attention, she rolled her eyes, "Let me guess, you never belch, either?"

"No," said Carlisle faintly.

"Surprise, surprise. Now, enough stalling. Everybody, eat up!"

Jacob showed amazing restraint, snatching only two steaks, and actually remembering to use his utensils.

Reneseme cleared her throat, expectantly. "What?" he asked, sighing when she dumped a rather large portion of salad on his plate.

Emmet, went first, once everybody had full plates in front of them. Awkwardly using his fork and knife, he cut a tiny piece of meat, and with all the enthusiasm of a five year-old eating his brussel sprouts, reluctantly took his first bite.

Shock and surprise, mingled with delight on his face, and he greedily took another, substantially larger bite.

"What?" he replied defensively to Edward's look of disbelief "This tastes amazing!"

Everyone else took little bites, and soon where enjoying their food as much as Emmet, and to his dismay, as much as Jacob(he had been counting on eating the "leftovers"). Even the salad was a hit.

Later, as everyone sat in the family room discussing, once again, the ramifications of the changes that were coming on so fast, Rose gave a little groan, putting her hand over her tummy.

"What is it Rose?" her husband asked with concern.

"Nothing," she replied standing up "my stomach feels a little funny, is all. I just need to stand for a minute."

" Carlisle," she asked "do you think its time to go cough the dinner up?" Looking at Renee apologetically, she said "The food was incredible, I haven't eaten on purpose for almost a hundred years. But our bodies are not able to digest human food, it just stays in our stomach until we purge, we-"FRA-A-AP!!!

"What the hell?" Emmet jumped from his seat, going to his wife's side, and then hastily beating a retreat, holding his nose, and fanning the air in front of him said "Rosie, I think you just...farted."

Mortified, Rose responded in fury "No I didn't! I haven't done that in... a long time. Must have been Jacob."

"He is still in the kitchen, eating the six extra steaks I cooked for him," Renee said, smiling "Rose, it's not a big deal, flatulence is just a part of life, nothing to be embarrassed about."

"I DO NOT...FLATULATE!!!" Rose roared with embarrassment.

FRA-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-P!!!!!!!!

"Whoops!" said Emmet, "Well, evidently I do."

Soon, the entire room was filled with a cacophony of tooting, as the entire family started to flatulate uncontrollably, due to having eaten for the first time in so long.

"Carlisle," Edward said, having to raise his voice to be heard above the racket "what on earth is going on?"

"Well," his father replied, "if I were to guess, I would say that, as impossible as it sounds, we are actually digesting our meal."

"Emmet! You stop that this instant!!" Esme told her son sharply.

Emmet looked up at his mother, as he had been bent over at the waist and holding a lighter near his backside, Jasper standing to the side, laughing uproariously. "Aw, c'mon mom. I have always wanted to do this, now for the first time I can!"

"Fine." Esme said with a sigh, "But do that up on deck, we don't want to catch the boat on fire."

"All right!" Emmet said, dashing up topside. Jasper followed, pausing long enough to discreetly pocket a lighter of his own. Alice smirked, and raced ahead of him in order to watch as he and his brother lit up the night sky with their..."fireworks".

After the gas had passed, and the kitchen cleaned up, everyone retired for the night, anxious to see what the morning would bring.

_I will be posting the next chapter hopefully before the end of the week-end. It sure would be helpful if I could get some reviews though(Hint, hint), I would like to know what you think of the direction I have taken the characters. Trust me, when this story is finished, you will be thinking to yourselves "Wow, I never even saw that one coming."_

_Cheers,_

_Cap CTR_


	11. Chapter 11

Ch. 11 Dawning Realizations

Renee slipped quietly out of bed, so as not to disturb her sleeping husband. Looking down at Charlie with absolute adoration, she pondered the long, difficult, and often painful road they had traveled to get to this magical point in their lives. Why did she ever leave her husband in the first place? He had only ever treated her with love and respect, always looking to meet any need she might possibly have, often before she even realized she had one.

Doting. That was the perfect word to describe the way Charlie had been in their first marriage. She had felt smothered by all the love and attention he had showered her with. Looking back, Renee felt the sting of shame at how ungrateful, and immature she had been. Charlie had been roughly the same age as she had been; nineteen; he had only tried his best to be a good husband as he had understood one to be, and she had rejected him!

Renee wanted to be able to blame her behavior on the severe postpartum blues she had gone through after Bella had been born, but she knew better. That had only been a part of the problem.

She had felt trapped by what she had foolishly considered a bad choice. Her mother had repeatedly told her that being married at such a young age, robbed her of her future, and Renee had believed her!

She went through years of depression and loneliness after the divorce, riddled with doubt and guilt. Bella had been her lifeline.

And then Phil came along.

Phil had been two years younger, handsome, and somewhat accepting of Bella. Renee, recognizing that her daughter was getting closer to leaving the nest,was thrilled at the prospect of having someone to share her life with. So with some misgivings, she accepted Phil's proposal.

She should have realized what a selfish prick he was from the beginning, springing the move to Florida on her the way he did, no wonder Bella felt pressured to move to Forks(thank heavens she did!).

Renee had pretended to be happy at first, not wanting her daughter to know how desperately she was missed, but after the wedding, Phil had gotten his draft notice from the Seattle Mariners, and his excitement led to arrogance, led to abuse, and ultimately, led to him telling her he was tired of being saddled with her emotional baggage and neediness. Besides, she was not getting any younger.

The rejection had devastated her at first. She had had to dig deep and swallow hard to go to her daughter for help, but she didn't know what else to do. She had nowhere to go, no money, and worse, nobody to lean on.

Bella had immediately accepted her mother with open arms, and the Cullens had done the same.

She was shocked when she opened the door to find Charlie standing there, looking like he had just stepped off the cover of GQ, yet that was nothing compared to the fact that he wanted her to have dinner with him! He actually cared for her. Still!

Dinner had been an all night affair, neither wanting it to end. Charlie had been the perfect gentleman, treating her with the same respect as he had on their first date when they were teenagers, there was no behavior on his part reflecting a prior claim to her affections. Plus, he had clearly spent a great deal of time preparing to ask her out, the fitness and fashion boot camp he had endured under Alice's regime clearly indicated that he felt he had been the reason for Renee's rejection. It had taken several months to dispel that notion, but in the end-the bond of love and trust had not only been restored, but strengthened beyond comprehension.

And now. Now they had bodies to reflect their relationship. They had been through the crucible, and come had come out refined, forged into something that was nigh unbreakable, in body, in spirit, and in their renewed, reborn relationship.

Renee went up topside. The deck was clear, as everyone was in their rooms, determined to try to sleep for the first time in their immortal lives.

It was becoming increasingly clear to her, that while her immortal body didn't need to sleep, her mind felt

During the course of her and Charlie's courtship, Renee had chosen to go to the gym with him, in order to spend more time with him. She had discovered that she quite enjoyed lifting weights, and reveled in the sensation of tension generated in her muscles from the work out, but when Charlie went to his MMA class, she opted to attend a yoga and meditation class- learning about the importance of becoming more aware of her body through her breathing, stretching, and turning her mental focus inward. She had gotten out of practice since the wedding, and was curious to see how her altered body would respond to such activity.

Going to the prow of the boat, Renee dropped into the lotus position, taking slow, measured, and deep breaths, in through her nose, out through her mouth. Once again turning her mental focus inward, she seemed to start falling inside herself. She became acutely aware of herself on a molecular level, and was able to instinctively discern the differences between what her body had been, and what it now was.

Everything seemed to be...crystallized. Halted in it's development, perfected in the state it had been in at the time of the change. This was why her body seemed impervious to outside influence, be it external force, pressure, temperature, or the passage of time. This also explained the lack of need for food. Although she was unsure as to the role the need for blood played, the sharks blood had changed all the rules, induced incremental changes where none had before been possible.

Continuing her inward journey, she came to her now dead heart.

The biggest shock upon awakening, had been the absence of a pulse, as well as the lack of a need for respiration. She still couldn't get used to it.

Continuing to breathe deeply in her meditation, she noticed her chest had begun to warm, just as it always had in mortality, only more so.

An idea came to her, in her heightened awareness. What if the whole idea of being one of the undead, was wrong? What if her heart wasn't dead, but rather...in stasis? A cocoon even?

Renee's mind raced with excitement.

What if being a vampire was actually nothing more than a stalled metamorphosis? Somehow, the sharks blood had brought them out of that stall.

Examining her heart more closely, she summoned all of her considerable vampiric strength, and with intense concentration, shattered the hold that the stasis had put upon her heart.

_Ba-boom. Ba-boom. Ba-boom._

Like a sleeping giant coming awake, her heart beat for the first time in two days, and it filled her ears with it's rhythmic beating, and a rarefied sensation of life, seemed to race throughout her body.

It was indescribable!

Suddenly, she felt as if fiery acid had flooded her veins. The pain was terrible, it broke her concentration, and an unwilling scream tore from her throat as she collapsed, unconscious to the deck.


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter Twelve Chrysalis Rending

Everybody in the various stages of trying to fall asleep when Renee's shriek pierced the night, found themselves up on deck before the scream had even finished leaving her throat, witnessing Charlie catch his wife before she could hit the ground.

"What's happening?" he frantically asked Carlisle, yet it was Alice who answered, her eyes opened wide "How could I not see this happening?"

"What? What's happening to my wife, Alice?"

"She is changing the world, Charlie," She responded, wonderingly " our world; everything we think we know about our existence, is about to be yanked out from under our feet."

"Again?" asked Edward, incredulously "As if silencing the thirst on top of all the other changes we are facing isn't enough, what else could possibly happen that could be any more disconcerting than what we have already witnessed?"

Alice shook her head "I can't even begin to explain..." she cut off as a strange sound that had been hanging in the air, suddenly became louder to their ears, more pronounced.

Ba-boom. Ba-bom. Ba-boom.

The sound was coming from Renee, it sounded almost as if

"Holy crap!" Carlisle said, earning a reproving look from his wife over his language "Sorry dear," he said, not bothering to be embarrassed "but do you hear that? Renee's heart is beating!"

Everybody refocused on the face of the woman in Charlie's arms just in time to see her face shift from the chilled, stark white typical of a vampire(she and Charlie had not yet gotten around to the polymer spray), to a fully flushed countenance, radiating heat.

Opening her eyes, Renee woke up beaming "I did it ." was all she said.

"Yes," responded Carlisle "you did. But what exactly did you do?"

"We've had it wrong all along," said Renee, shaking her head "we have never been among the 'undead' " she said, raising her hands and doing quotation marks in the air "we have been in a bizarre form of waking stasis."

"Waking Stasis?" Edward questioned.

"Yes," Renee replied "the venom that enacts the change in our bodies is not meant to change us into blood-sucking fiends," everybody but Charlie flinched at her cavalier choice of words "rather, it was meant to put our feet on the path to a sort of glorified evolutionary process. We have all been locked in our individual metamorphosis, literally crystalized. But with the quenching of the thirst, it is now possible, easy even, to finish the transition."

"But we heard you scream." Charlie protested.

Renee grimaced 'I said easy. I didn't say pleasant."

"Does this mean we can be human again?" Charlie asked his wife, looking uncertain as to whether or not he wanted to hear the answer.

"Yes and no." came Renee's reply "More than human. Much more than human." Moving faster than even they could see, Renee was out of Charlie's arms in a flash, and he and Emmet felt a heated grip on their wrist as they felt their arms almost yanked out of their sockets, and suddenly found themselves face to face with each other, Renee's arms locked together around the narrowest section of their waists, and she lifted them off the deck in her fierce embrace. With a wicked gleam in her eyes, she issued a challenge to the largest and the strongest of the clan "Try to get out of my grip." she said, grinning wickedly.

Looking at each other, practically nose to nose, both men grinned at the woman who held them together, noting the warmth and softness of her deceptively strong grip, and gently at first, so as not to hurt her, they both began to flex, with gradually increasing power.

Renee's grip, which felt so warm and yielding, nevertheless was unbreakable. Before long, both Charlie and Emmet were struggling for all they were worth, trying to break free, whereas Renee's expression never quite faltered; the only change- was that her grin went from wicked, to downright evil, as she effortlessly tightened her grip, putting Emmet and Charlie in a more than awkward position, as they were involuntarily drawn closer than any "manly" hug would generally permit.

"Incredible." whispered Carlisle in disbelief.

Setting the two men back down, Renee looked up "Much, much, much more than human."

"Renee," Carlisle began, hesitantly "what else can you do?"

Wordlessly, Renee extended her arm "Watch." she whispered, pointing to her wrist, capturing everybody's focus. As they watched in silence, the flesh covering her wrist parted seamlessly, releasing a portion of blood before resealing itself.

Rather than falling and spattering on the ground, the small portion of blood hung suspended before them in the air.

"I have gained total control over every molecule my body is comprised of."

As Renee spoke, the blood that hung suspended before her in the air, formed into a globe and began spinning in orbit around her, continuously shifting fluidly from one shape into another.

It was beautiful.

"I am not only totally aware of my body; my very cells; but it responds to my every command." Looking at Jacob, she said "Like yours."

Backing up, and shaking his head jacob responded "I can't do any of that."

"Not. Yet." replied Renee empathetically.

Emmet, in fascination, had come closer to Renee "Hey Auntie!" he called out "if my thirst hadn't been so thoroughly slaked, I would be going absolutely insane over this stuff," he said, gesturing to the shape shifting globule of blood moving around in it's orbit "it smells out of this world!"

"I have to agree," rejoined Carlisle "it smells like human blood, but immeasurably more potent."

"There is not a vampire in this world, or any other," she responded, ominously "who could take my blood without my consent. Now, enough talking! Everybody drop into a lotus position." she commanded "I have been the only one of my kind for several minutes already, I have no desire to remain so any longer."

"I don't know, Renee," Charlie said uncertainly "do you really think this is something we can all do?"

"Trust me," his wife said confidently "just listen to my voice, and do as I say."

As one, the Cullen family dropped into lotus position, and closing their eyes, followed Renee's voice through the doorway of their destiny.


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter Thirteen ****The Reckoning**

Carlisle opened his eyes; waking up for the first time in almost four hundred years; a beatific smile splitting his face. Were it not for the obvious fact that he actually _was_ waking up, he would find the events of the previous night impossible to believe.

Impossible. This was a word he was no longer convinced he could believe in, not after the amazing changes that had recently witnessed.

Shaking his head, he sat up in the bed, and turning, gently put his feet on the floor and stood up quietly so as not to disturb his wife's still sleeping form.

Mimicking last night's activity, Carlisle dropped into the now familiar lotus position, and closing his eyes, started breathing deeply. Letting his awareness descend into the core of his being, he could literally _feel_ his blood as it coursed through his veins, made mobile by his newly reawakened and beating heart.

If he focused, he could extend his awareness further, wrapping it around individual blood cells, red, and white.

Carlisle brought his hand, palm side up, near his face, and studied the creases in his palm. The largest crease, running from the lateral to the medial side of his palm, caught his attention, and breathing deep, he caused it to open just long enough to emit a large drop of blood, before he resealed it.

Blood.

To think that such a substance could be at the center of his, and so many other's existence, for so long. Sought after, fought over, and even hoarded after a fashion, as vampires imitated the behavior of long ago prospectors who staked their claim, determined to wring every last ounce of gold from the land-before moving on to stake another claim.

Although Carlisle had never fed on any blood that hadn't come from an animal, the loss of life was horrific. A human, for instance, could pay to have a cow slaughtered, ONE cow, and feed a good sized family on it for a winter, along with the needed fruits and vegetables. Carlisle had tried raising a herd of cattle once, in an attempt to spare the local wildlife; but even only having to feed every couple of weeks, he drained the last of the herd inside of six months, at three cows per feeding. And cows contained considerably more blood than humans!

Emmet' s accidental discovery had briefly changed the dynamics of their existence, and quickly culminated in Renee completing the process. Now, blood no longer played any part of the equation, in regards to their sustenance.

At the thought of food, Carlisle caught the scent of eggs and bacon in the air. Clearly Renee was cooking again, and his stomach gurgled in response, but as he stood up to change out of his cotton pajama bottoms, he noticed two things. First: He caught his reflection in the mirror, the sunlight coming through the window illustrated just how dramatically he had changed- his skin no longer sparkled, rather, it was a vibrantly healthy bronze; radiating a tangible health and warmth. Second: He felt a long forgotten sensation, and had to hurry to the bathroom, where he hoped he would be able to figure out that whole toilet paper thing!

As he finished in the bathroom, he was washing his hands, when he decided just to be safe, he should probably shower.

While he stood under the spray of hot water, reveling in it's warmth; he had an epiphany. Thanks to Emmet and Renee, he now knew how to cure to vampirism!

"Hey, is there enough room for two in there?" came Esme' s sultry voice through the shower door.

Luckily, Renee was still cooking thirty minutes later, Jacob sitting at the table with everyone else, finishing his sixth plate, eagerly waiting for more.

As Carlisle sat down to tuck into breakfast, Edward looked up "Carlisle," he said "I don't want to rain on your parade, but did it also occur to you that some vampires might not want to be cured?"

The fork halted halfway to his mouth "Why not?" he asked, surprised.

Edward suppressed a sigh at his father's naivete "I don't think that it is only about the blood with some, but rather the feeling of power they derive from dominating someone weaker than themselves; a perverse type of high. Having Aro run through my mind, while concurrently being exposed to his, showed me that the last thing he will tolerate is anything he perceives to be a threat to his power base, and part of that power base is the ability to grant the right to feed without consequences in Volturra. To take that away, to take away the need for blood, would render him irrelevant, and he would rather die than suffer such a fate. We came close to a fight over Nessie, but this is something he would _not_ back down from."

Carlisle had to admit it, his son had it right, he had known Aro for almost the whole of his existence, had witnessed countless humans be led to their doom. And as he pondered this, a warmth began to develop in his center; a warmth that quickly built into an inferno-like wrath.

How many innocents had been lured to their demise, just to feed the hunger, the ego, the lust for power of one being? The other two were more or less unimportant, as it was Aro at their center.

"He is done." Carlisle said, darkly.

"Who is done, Carlisle?" asked Jacob.

"Aro."

"That old bastard that tried to take Ness away? Sweet, I am so in on this."

Having lost his newly found desire to eat, Carlisle pushed away from the table "We need to refuel and top off our reserves, as well as completely stock up on supplies. We are going to pay an old 'friend' , a little visit."


	14. Chapter 14

Hi everybody. By now I am sure you noticed that I have pulled several chapters- I did this in order to flesh out the story as well as to work on my revisions. I am still struggling with pacing myself, and I sincerely thank all of you for taking the time to read and review, as well as those who have even just taken the time to read. You guys are awsome!

Chapter Fourteen The Wrath Of Carlisle

"Refuel and restock?" Edward asked "Carlisle, I take it that by visiting an 'old friend', you mean Aro, but do you mean for us to travel to Italy by sea? The amount of time that would take..." he trailed off.

Carlisle looked at his son "You are right, of course, I got a little ahead of myself. We are going to have to store the yacht in Port Douglas, then fly out of Cairns to Italy- it is long past time that we put an end to the Volturri' s reign."

Jasper and Emmet had joined them at this point, and looking t his father, Emmet asked "Are you serious?"

"Deadly serious." replied Carlisle, stonily.

Jasper and Emmet smiled widely in unison, and punching fists, said "ALL RIGHT!"

Pulling out his cell-phone, Carlisle looked at his three sons "I am calling our cousins in Denali, after first their mother, and now their sister, they have a right to be involved. I am buying them tickets to Cairns now, where, if they are amenable, they should meet us within twenty-four hours. I want you three to harvest the biggest great white you can find- just one- that should provide us with more than enough blood to help them complete the transformation."

With that, he wordlessly dismissed his sons, and made the appropriate arrangements.

Garret looked at the Cullens in disbelief, and shaking his head, said "If I couldn't hear your hearts beating, I would think you had sick sense of humor. But if you have finished this so-called transformation, restarted your heart, etc... Why can't I smell your blood?"

"That would be my fault, actually." Carlisle volunteered "When we were able to smell Renee's blood, it was only the quenching of the thirst that kept us from attacking outright, she smelled incredible, no doubt as a result of her evolved health, and vitality. I figured we would smell every bit as potent, so I decided it would be wise to increase the polymer coating on myself, to muffle my scent, in order to relate recent events, and to give you the option of joining us."

"To bring down those sons of bitches that have now twice bereaved us?" Kate asked intensely "Hell yeah! And double 'Hell yeah' to being done with this vampire lifestyle. You have never lied to me, I have no reason not to believe you now. Lets do this."

Carlisle set the two loaded duffle bags he brought with him, on the table, in the hotel room he had reserved for his extended family "There is enough sharks blood here for all of you to start the process. I have calculated how much each of you will need, based on size, and stored it in a series of blood donor bags I was able to procure at a local clinic, your names will be on exactly the number of bags you will need, as they are only big enough to hold a pint each." Carlisle finished.

Tanya, Kate, Garrett, Eleazar, and Carmen all excitedly gathered round, taking their requisite number of bags.

Garrett tore the top off of one with his teeth, then stood, sniffing the blood nervously for just a second, before his expression turned from leery, to surprised, to ravenous, in the next second. As quickly as he drained the dozen pints with his name on them, the rest of the Denali clan were just as quick, and then they spent the next thirty minutes marveling at feeling satiated for the first time, ever.

The girls were quite pleased with the immediate change in eye color, the men... well, they were men- they couldn't care less about eye color.

At this point, Carlisle successfully removed the polymer from his skin, and Renee came waltzing into the hotel room, and just as successfully guided the extended family through the rest of their transformation.

As Carlisle surveyed the scene, he gladly noted how happy his cousins seemed to be with their individual changes, and answered questions as best he could. At this point, the rest of the Cullens showed up, and the family meeting he had been planning could get underway.

"For far too long, the Volturi have been in power, dictators in a court of monsters. It is time to end their reign," he said simply "and this is how we are going to do it..."


	15. Chapter 15

**Warning!**

**Some mildly suggestive material on first page. **

Chapter Fifteen The Comeuppance

Gianna was not happy.

After years of serving her masters; of luring unsuspecting tourists to Volturri dinner plates; she was granted her hearts desire- she was made a vampire. Yet she was _still_ expected to go out "grocery shopping"!!

The strength, the speed, and the reasonable invulnerability granted to all vampires was thrilling. There was nothing Gianna enjoyed more than the thrill of the hunt. Therefor, it was a complete mystery to her, how any of her masters would settle for calmly sitting, waiting for her to bring their meals to them.

She had made a habit of going to seedy bars, dressing her glorious body in tight, revealing clothing, and inciting near riots among the thugs that were all vying for her attention. She would always choose the alpha male, the one brute who would easily dominate the others with his strength, and ferocity, while she would laugh behind her hand, watching him swagger cockily to take the bar stool next to her, offering to buy her a drink, as his eyes would possessively wander over her body, usually stopping at her incredible breasts. At this moment, Gianna would "accidentally" spill out of whatever immodest blouse she happened to be wearing, making sure to expose at least a nipple, before putting herself back together, then with a wink, and a leer, she would ask the egotistical fool if he would escort her home, as it was dark and scary outside.

Playing the role of the helpless female was the bait that never failed, especially when it was accompanied by a suggestive detour to the closest alleyway.

Gianna liked to think of herself as good sport. She would always enter the alley several steps ahead of her victim, tearing off her blouse in one fluid motion, fully exposing her upper torso. In this way, she would overexcite her prey, listening as his pulse would race, and watching as he would eagerly step forward into her embrace(for some reason, they _always_ went straight for her breasts).

She loved to watch their faces as she let them take a nipple in their mouth; first the lust, which would turn into surprise, then shock as they would register the unnaturally cold, and rock-hard flesh, which would pass into revulsion, and ultimately horror, as they realized that she was anything but human.

More often than not, they would turn and flee, leading her on a brief, but merry chase, that ended with her chosen prey turning and trying to fight her off. They always lost. She always had entertainment with her meal.

However, twice, she actually had her prey topple over, suffering a heart attack at the prospect of "scoring" with such a beauty, and she would have to forgo the pleasure of the hunt, in favor of quickly draining her prey, before they were well and truly dead. This was never as thrilling, but _always_ good for a laugh!

She loved to listen to Aro laugh as she would regale him with tales of her exploits, yet when she would ask him to go with her the next time, he would simply stroke her hair as if she were a child, and tell her that his days of chasing down prey were well behind him, especially now that he had made her immortal, and she was so good at luring dinner home to him.

With a sigh, Gianna concluded that, although she did not understand her master, she _would _serve him.

Looking up, she spied a large group of young tourists coming her way. College students on leave for the summer, from the looks of them. The young men all had bushy beards, sunglasses, and loosely rolled bandanas tied around their foreheads, in an attempt to keep the hair out of their eyes. The young women were wearing sunglasses and bandanas as well, only their bandanas were tied in a fashion that covered the tops of their heads, as well as most of their hair. Both the young men and and the young women were dressed rather shabbily, or rathe, were trying to give off the air of shabbiness, yet the clothes they were wearing were, to her eyes, clearly of a higher quality then they would be had this particular group of young people actually been as bohemian as they were clearly _trying_ to be.

Gianna rolled her eyes, _must be americans, _she thought to herself, _obviously here on momma and papa's dime,_ she snorted with contempt, having little patience for such humans. She would be doing the world a favor, getting rid of such useless, spoiled brats.

Doing a quick count, and coming to the conclusion that thirteen humans should suffice for tonight's meal; especially the two big ones, they would probably be enough to satisfy even Felix and Demetri- those two were such pigs, in her opinion.

Gianna turned around, and quickly walking a couple of blocks, she pulled out her cellphone and called base "I have dinner ordered," she said "I just have to swing by and pick it up, make sure all is ready." she ordered her human replacement.

"Carlisle," Esme chastised "quit scratching at your beard; people will think you have fleas!"

"Sorry dearest," he replied "but this_ is_ there first beard I have been able to grow in almost four hundred years; it itches."

"Mine feels fine," said Edward.

Carlisle made a face at his eldest son, who now stood almost five inches taller, after he had compelled his body to resume it's growth; apparently, a hundred years in stasis caused a bit of cellular frustration, as he was able to reach what would have been his optimal growth had he remained healthy, and human, in less than two weeks.

However, a more interesting two weeks, Carlisle would be hard-pressed to remember. Edward, who was more than pleased to learn that his growth had resumed, was constantly besieged with a potent combination of hunger and growing pains. It

had made even Jacob ill, watching the amount of food Edward was consuming every day; at least enough to feed a family of eight for a week, on a daily basis! For two weeks, all Edward did, was eat, poop, and sleep. When all was said and done, Edward stood at just over six feet and three and a half inches tall, was almost as wide across the shoulders as Emmet and Charlie, and had put on a good sixty pounds of muscle. But the best part(or at least the most humorous) had been the morning Edward woke up with a voice that was a good two octaves lower than it had been the night before, and a chest covered in copper colored hair.

What was more, the accelerated growth of his body extended to his hair, as well. Fortunately, Renee had spent a year in beauty school in one of her several short-lived interests, and she was able to cut the six inches his hair was growing every day, during the course of those two weeks; although Bella insisted that Edward keep his hair at just below his shoulders, she thought it made him look sexy. Charlie and Emmet however, took great delight in telling him that he looked like he belonged on the cover of a trashy romance novel, and making breathy comments about heaving bosoms, and torn bodices, much to Edward's discomfort. It had actually come down to a wrestling match between the three, and Edward surprised both Emmet and Charlie, when he pinned them each, in rapid succession. That was when he decided that he rather liked this accelerated growth business.

It was Edward, drawing on his memories of his, Bella's, and Alice's previous experience in Italy a couple of years earlier; remembering how Gianna had led the unsuspecting tourists to their doom.

"Did you see Gianna, Edward?" Alice asked.

"Yes," Edward replied darkly "it would seem that her gamble paid off, after all." He sighed "It is hard to imagine _choosing_ this kind of existence, simply for the sake of immortality."

"I dot know," Bella murmured "it's worked out pretty well for me, so far."

"Darling," Edward said "you have never delighted in the spilling of blood. Gianna does, I was listening to her thoughts when she spied us-she may not recognize us, my dear, but she is certainly looking forward to serving us up to her master."

"Her she comes!" Alice hissed.

"Everybody, remember," Carlisle admonished "open your veins for a brief second when we get before Aro and his minions. Not enough to be visually noticable, just enough to distract them with our scent."

"Excuse me, you all look kind of lost, can I help you find anything?"

Carlisle whirled about, putting a big smile on his face "Ah, Signora! Thank you. My friends and I were just begining to disagree over which sights we should tour first. Do you have any suggestions?"

Gianna beamed at them all "What a coincidence! I just happen to be a tour guide on my way back from lunch. I would be happy to give you an expansive tour of Volturra, for a small fee."

"Excellent." Carlisle replied "Would you by any chance be able to tell us about that impressive edifice?" he innocently asked, pointing at the Volturri Keep.

"Signor, I am actually on good, personal terms with the family who owns that particular sight." Gianna proclaimed proudly "If you will all just follow me..." and she led them through the streets, towards the keep.

Aro was feeling a bit restless. Looking over at his brothers, he thought Caius looked just a little put out over having to wait for his dinner; but then, Caius _always_ looked put out. Marcus just sat there looking bored, and Aro sighed, when would his brother ever get over the loss of Didyme, and get on with living? After all, Aro had also lost his sister when he'd had her destroyed. It was neccessary, otherwise Marcus may have been tempted to leave the coven, to start one of his own, and it just wouldn't do to have competition.

A bell sounded, announcing Gianna's return, causing everyone in the chamber to sit up eagerly, anxious for dinner. She boldly strode in, followed by over a dozen people, and a breeze that followed in behind her and her group as the door shut.

"Here we have the court from which the leaders of Volturra ruled." she announced, continuing the facade.

"Oh look, Jaz- they even have statues dressed up to play the parts!!" a little minx of a brunette said excitedly, causing Aro to smile, that was often the response of tourists when they entered the room from which they would depart their mortal coil.

Aro took a second look at the girl; there was something familiar about her, but he could not figure out what. He was distracted, however, when the breeze that followed them in, carried on it, a scent that almost completely washed all rational thought from his mind, and caused his mouth to flood with venom.

That smell!! It was amazing! It took all of Aro's self control not to leap from his throne and descend upon the entire group in a state of blood-lust that had not felt this powerful since he first woke as a Newborn.

Felix, evidently, was made of weaker stuff, as his self-control refused to hold, and in a flash, he launched himself with blinding speed at the little pixie's back, clearly intending to drain her before anybody knew what was happening.

Felix's attack was brought up short, however, when he found himself caught by the neck, and lifted up off the ground, by said little pixie!!

"Honestly Felix," she said with a frown "I half expected you to exercise a _little_ subtlety. I didn't even _need_ to look into the future to see you would be the first one to attack." and in a flash of speed that Aro just simply could not follow, she dropped Felix into what amounted to a type of headlock.

"Say goodbye, Felix." she calmly said, and in one fluid motion, popped his head from his shoulders.

As one, the Volturri guard attacked, utilizing their various talents against these monstrous new beings, all to no avail, and Aro watched with increasing horror as his guard was systematically eliminated, one by one, until, finally only Aro, his brothers, Jane, Alec, and Gianna were all that were left.

"Hello, Aro." one of the young men said, stepping forward and removing his sunglasses, and bandanna. Again, there was _something_ familiar about these "humans", but Aro just could not figure out what.

The young man heaved a sigh "Aro," he said patiently "it's me. Carlisle."

"Carlisle?" the old aristocrat sputtered in disbelief "How?"

Carlisle sighed again "It's a long story."

"Well," Aro said "I would love to hear it, just after you explain to me just why ou have destroyed my entire guard."

"They _did_ attack us first," Carlisle said mildly "had they not, we would not have been forced to act in such manner. We actually have come to help."

"Help?" Aro asked in disbelief, as ha surveyed the surrounding damage "How?"

"We have come to free you from your dependence on blood."

"I am not even going to ask you why you would feel that I would even be interested in such _freedom_," Aro spat "but I am fascinated as to _how_ you propose such an impossibility."

"Like this." Carlisle replied, and picking up a solid gold chalice from among the various treasures and works of art strewn about the chamber haphazardly, he held it under his wrist, which opened of it's own accord, and filled the chalice.

"Here," Carlisle said, offering Aro the chalice "drink. We have become so much more than human, that by partaking of our blood even once, you will _never_ need blood again."

The rest of his family each found cups, filling them as well, and offering them to the surviving members of the Volturri.

Aro inhaled the intoxicating aroma, it smelled so inviting, so...heavenly, before he knew it, he was greedily consuming the cup's contents, as were the rest of the Volturri, all save Marcus, who sat up with what was the first sign of interest he had shown _ever_ in two thousand years. Refusing his cup, he asked "Can you dispose of me as easily as you did the others?" he asked eagerly.

Aro was aghast "Marcus! What are you _saying_?"

I grew sick of this 'life' long ago, 'brother'" Marcus said, disdainfully "I _never_ enjoyed taking the lives of the innocent as you have, but since you took my beloved from me in your selfish bid for power, I have had no desire to live, to act, to choose. So I choose now."

Looking at Carlisle, beseechingly, Marcus said "I have been at best, indifferent to my own existence, but from the day you came to us as a youth, I have held you, your morals, your ideals, in absolute respect-thus, I ask you now: Carlisle, will you give me the release that I need? Will you help me find peace?"

"I will." Carlisle promised soberly "But let us first attend to the rest."

Turning to Aro, and those who followed him, he asked "What did you think of the blood?"

Already forgetting the pain of the man he called brother, Aro smacked his lips "It was divine!" he enthused "But you promised me such satisfaction, that I would never crave blood again. I do not think that is the case here, and I am eager to send Gianna out to bring home some _more_ dinner. Unless," he said slyly "you and the rest of your family are willing to share some more of your delectable blood?" in a blatant attempt to place the final responsibility for the innocent lives that might be taken on Carlisle's shoulders.

Carlisle closed his eyes, shaking his head "Aro, at one time, I called you friend, closing my eyes to the monster that you are, rationalizing that you could not help what you were. But in truth, you revel in your greedy wickedness, and I've no doubt that if left to your own devices, you will rebuild your bloody empire. Therefor," he went on "it behooves me, to render judgement on you, and your ilk."

Aro's eyes widened in outrage "Render judgement on _me_? How _dare_ you..."

"Oh, I dare _more_ than rendering judgement. Much more."

As one, every Cullen closed their eyes in apparent concentration.

It was Jane who reacted first, yelping her hands flew to her stomach, her eyes going wide. At this point, Aro could feel the nectar that was Carlisle's blood, start moving in his belly, spreading; traveling through his body to his extremities, and up his neck, into his head, and wherever it passed, his body began to stiffen.

"You see, Aro," Carlisle resumed speaking "we have learned, quite by accident, that vampires are a mistake, a stopping point along an intended evolution, that we failed to get passed. _We_ have broken through that stall in our progress, and in doing so, have become _so much more_. For instance, we have gained a profound amount of control over our bodies, our very molecules. That is what you are all feeling right now, we are permeating your entire being with our very essence, shoring up certain aspects of your vampiric bodies."

Aro, completely unable to move, could only look at his former friend in horror.

Carlisle went on relentlessly, eyes boring into the ever stiffening vampire "For your crimes against humanity, vampires, even your very sister, I condemn you, not to death, although you will wish I had, but to life! You will continue living, witnessing the events happening around you. But you will be unable take part, unable to interact with those around you, unable to feed, or be fed. You and your followers will be reduced to be nothing more than decorative statuary." Eyeing the rest of the Volturri, all frozen with faces frozen in horror, Carlisle went on "Very unhappy looking statuary. But before we go, I will leave you with this, it is now my personal mission, to eradicate vampires as you know them, from the face of this earth."

Turning, Carlisle addressed Marcus "I suspected you to be different from your brothers, especially as I became increasingly educated in medicine. Marcus, as a vampire you are unable to progress, to process, and move beyond your grief at your loss, you suffer what humans call chronic depression. I cannot restore your wife to you, but I can help restore to you a life with purpose." At that, he opened the knapsack he had brought in with him, and dumped out ten one pint bags of what appeared to be blood.

"Here Marcus, I want you to drink these."

Marcus looked up at Carlisle, stricken "But you promised to put an end to my pain!"

"Yes, I did." came the reply "But I did _not_ promise to kill you. I ask only that you trust me, give me a chance. If I fail to help you in your search for peace, I vow to help you end your earthly sojourn." Carlisle promised.

So it was, that the Cullen's immediate family grew not only by the joining of their Denali cousins, but by Marcus as well.


	16. Chapter 16

_Happy New Year everybody!! I am sorry it has taken me so long to get back to this-between getting myself and my girls ready to go back to school... _

Chapter 16 To Rise From The Dust; To Be A Man

Marcus stood at the stern of the Cullen's yacht, watching the setting sun with something almost approaching interest, as it sank below the horizon, staining the clouds a blazing crimson as it went.

Crimson.

Like blood.

It had been three weeks since justice had been met out to Aro and his sycophantic followers; since Marcus had joined himself with the Cullen family. In that time, he had witnessed things that had caused even him to feel a measure of surprise. Imagine, eliminating the thirst, by feeding on a fish!

Shaking his head in amusement, he admitted to himself that life _was_ a bit more interesting without having to contend with ones appetite; also, he had found that he was really developing a fondness for super fudge brownie ice cream, as well as Renee's cooking. Diving with that brutish looking fellow, Emmet, was also quickly becoming a favorite past time.

However, Marcus had still yet to complete his own transformation; had still yet to sleep.

Sleeping was not a new experience Marcus looked forward to, he could vaguely remember having nightmares as a small child, only this time, the mother who would soothe his fevered brow, had passed away over twenty-five hundred years ago; his wife, Didyme, had been destroyed by his "brother" two thousand years ago. He had been _alone_ for so long, mired in his own misery and despair, that he no longer knew how to feel anything but depression.

Until now.

The Cullens had shown him not only a kindness that he had forgotten, but also, genuine affection; an interest in his well-being. Marcus still did not know how to respond to such things. All he had known as one of the rulers of the Volturri, had been the selfish manipulations of Aro, and the sadism of Caius; he was convinced that two fouler beings did not exist in the world, and it sickened him to remember how he had let himself contribute to their abominable actions through his silent acquiescence. He felt an immense relief to be free of such a reprehensible environment.

"Marcus?"

Turning to see who had decided to intrude upon his quiet moment of introspection, Marcus smiled wanly at the woman who had joined him. "Hello Tanya," he said softly, "come to enjoy the beautiful sunset with an old fossil?"

"H mm, astronomy _and_ archeology, my two favorite subjects." she purred.

As usual, Marcus was oblivious to Tanya's flirtations; how anybody could be around for so many years, and yet remain so dense, was a mystery to her. She knew he had lost his mate to Aro's machinations, but that was _two thousand years_ ago! It was time for some much needed healing, and Tanya was determined to be the one who gave him succor.

She had been shocked to realize that Marcus was able to stir the kind of feelings within her heart that not even Edward had been able to generate; and she was bent on not only healing his heart-but also on claiming it for her own. No matter how long it took.

"I haven't been able to freely enjoy a sunset since my mate died," Marcus said, looking over at the woman who had come to stand beside him "though to be honest, it was a thousand years before I could even find the interest, and by that time, the human population had grown to the point that it was no longer possible to do without running the risk of being seen." Turning his gaze back out over the ocean, he sighed "I had forgotten how beautiful sunsets were."

Deciding to try another tactic, Tanya decided that maybe a listening ear would be more helpful. "Tell me about your mate, she must have been amazing to have such a hold on your heart."

Marcus's eyes took on a far away cast, as he decided to talk about his long dead mate for the first time. "I met Dydeme when she was six years old, and I was eight, the same age as her older brother-Aro. My father had just purchased their entire family to work as slaves on our estate." Noting the horrified expression on Tanya's face, he hastily added "My father was a good man. Yes he purchased slaves, but he always set them free with a purse full of gold after five years of labor, enough to live the rest their lives in comfort, if spent wisely; especially if he chanced upon an entire family-he would pay the parents each a purse of their own, an unheard of amount to say the least for back then. Any small children received the same schooling that I did; my father was a big believer in education, and always kept several of the regions greatest teachers in his employ."

Marcus was really warming up to his subject, and Tanya noticed his face was becoming increasingly animated as he relived, perhaps for the first time in a millennium, treasured memories.

"Aro and I became close friends, and ardent competitors in our schooling-each always trying to outdo the other. We were always exploring the furthest reaches of the family estate, constantly followed by his baby sister, Dydeme. She was a delightful child, and we relished showing off for her. The three of us became inseparable. This lasted the entire five years. At the end of their parent's service, Aro had proven himself a valuable asset to my father-having a sharp mind for business, and even then, an uncanny ability for understanding people, as well as manipulating them, as this greatly increased my father's holdings, he was loathe to part with such an asset. So, he hired Aro on a permanent basis, paying him a full purse of gold every year.

When we were twenty, two things happened: First, I asked for Dydeme's hand in marriage, as we were very much in love, and had been for years; everybody was thrilled-but none so much as I."

Scowling, Marcus continued "The second thing to happen, was Aro hired an ambitious young man our age, to be his valet. Caius."

At this point, Tanya was startled to see Marcus trembling with rage. With visible effort, Marcus brought himself under control.

"That year was the best, and the worst of my life." Marcus said, after taking a moment to regain control. "The best, because Dydeme and I were wed. The worst, because by the end of the year, Caius and Aro had betrayed my father, having him assassinated, and then taking over his business. They kept me around purely out of convenience, as I was the only heir to my father's fortune, but I am sure that given enough time, they would have had me eliminated too."

"So what stopped them?" Tanya asked, caught up in the tale.

Marcus snorted, "I chanced upon a vampire feeding upon an old man in an alleyway, one night on my way home from one of my many newly inherited shops. Apparently," Marcus said wryly, "he wasn't satisfied-so I joined the old man on the menu."

"For whatever reason, the cad chose not too finish me off, deciding instead, to drag me several miles outside of town, where he sadistically sat, and watched me go through the pain of the transformation." Grimacing at the memory, Marcus laughed humorlessly "When I finished, when I was overcome with the thirst, the bastard explained to me what I had become, and then tried to turn me lose on those who lived within my estate, upon Dydeme. The look of shock on his face when I resisted the thirst long enough to destroy him is a cherished memory."

"I left, of course, running as fast, and as far as I could to get away from Dydeme. The mere thought of causing her harm galvanized me in a way I had never known, enabled me to resist the thirst until I was set upon by a group of highwaymen, looking to fatten their purses."

"I consumed the blood of ten men that night."

"This enabled me to feel mostly satiated, and I foolishly believed that I could return home, and go on with my life. This notion lasted until the moment my overwrought wife flung herself at me, hysterical, believing she had lost me forever. I had consumed half her blood before I realized what I was doing, and could force myself to stop."

Marcus looked haunted by the memory.

"It was, of course, too late. At the end of the three days, my beloved wife joined me in my damnation."

"Wasn't that a good thing?" Tanya asked "Having your wife join you in immortality?"

Marcus looked at her, eyes filled with self-loathing "She was carrying our unborn child." he said bitterly. "I was almost a father. Dydeme miscarried during the course of her transformation-and it was all my fault."

Looking down, he went on "She forgave me of course, how was I to know what would happen? But I could never forgive myself."

"When Aro and Caius realized what we had become, they pressured Dydeme to change them as well. From there-well, you can figure out the rest of the story."

Before she could stop herself, Tanya blurted "Why didn't you destroy Aro after he killed your wife?"

Marcus looked at her with pain in his eyes "I had just lost the most important person in my existence," he said, wistfully, "at that point, all I wanted was to find a way to end myself."

"Which Aro would never permit." Tanya said sorrowfully. "Oh Marcus, I am so sorry for your pain."

He shrugged "I have lived with it for so long, I would probably be lost with out it."

Before she could change her mind, Tanya reached out, and pulling Marcus into a crushing embrace, kissed him on the cheek, and crooned in his ear "I will always be here for you, should you need me."

At this, something in Marcus broke, and before he knew it, tears spilled from eyes that had long been dusty, and he wept like child who could never be consoled.

Tanya held him up, cooing loving nonsense to him, and finally, picking him up, and cradling him to her like an overgrown child, she took him to his room, laid him on his bed, and kept him in her embrace, allowing him to vent over two millennium of pent up sorrow. After several hours of heartbroken weeping, Marcus drifted off to sleep for the first time in his immortality, and stayed that way for the better part of three days, held the entire time by Tanya, who refused to let go.

Marcus woke up three days later, and felt, well, great.

Feeling a pair of arms around him, he turned in Tanya's embrace, finding her asleep, yet fiercly refusing to relinquish her hold on him.

"I have grieved long enough," he thought to himself "Dydeme would want me to finally move on."

With that, he finally returned Tanya's embrace, and did something he had not done in two-thousand years. He kissed her.

Tanya felt a warm pair of lips roughly on her own, and opening her eyes to peer into Marcus's nervous gaze, quickly turned up the heat of the kiss-all but devouring the poor "ancient".

From then on, the two were inseparable, wherever one found Marcus, one found Tanya-and vise versa.

Where ever they went, others were drawn to them, to their unrestrained happiness.

This was compounded at their wedding, doubling again when Carlisle told them they were expecting twin girls. It was as if life was determined to make Marcus as happy as he had been miserable. It was succeeding in spades.


End file.
